


Break A Little

by DarlingReigns



Category: British Actor RPF, Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF, Tom Hiddleston- Fandom
Genre: Developing Relationship, Drunken Flirting, Drunkenness, Eventual Smut, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Getting to Know Each Other, Heartbreak, Job - Freeform, London, No Strings Attached, Opposites Attract, Partying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-02-01 14:59:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 48,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12707295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarlingReigns/pseuds/DarlingReigns
Summary: After the release of his infamous ex’s new album, Tom Hiddleston’s wounds from their short lived romance are ripped right back open. Until he meets Daphne. A spunky chef with a job that takes her all over the world. She has a taste for parties and brings Tom back to life. But as his feelings deepen, she continues to hide her own, insisting nothing lasts forever. Tom is in deep trouble.But then, everyone breaks a little.





	1. Chapter 1

“I’d just really like to stop looking like a fool.”  
“No one thinks you’re a fool, Tom…”  
Tom Hiddleston laughed loudly as he strolled down the London sidewalk. The sun was shining deceptively brightly for as cold as it was. Then again, perhaps a portion of the chill was coming from the movie star’s mindset for the day. He was wrapped in a hoodie and a pea coat and a baseball cap atop his head, his fairly new dog on a leash in one hand, a book, a notebook and a coffee somehow wrangled in the other. He currently wished he had a bag. He should’ve brought a damn bag.  
“She just released a song basically saying how stupid I was for believing what we had was real. EVERYONE thinks I’m a fool, as if they didn’t already.”  
“She’s never said it was definitely about you.”  
“She doesn’t have to,” Tom mumbled.  
It had been over a year since their three-month long love-fest came to a crashing halt. He didn’t see it coming, but apparently she had. It took him far longer than the relationship even lasted for him to get over it and now that he finally had, the wound was ripped right back open with the release of her new album. None of the sweet love songs could be about him. No. The one about how she used him to get out of a shitty relationship and then dumped him in a motel bar. That one. That one was OF COURSE about him. He couldn’t escape it no matter how much he wished he could.  
“Hold on a second,” Tom muttered, trying to rearrange the entire library he had apparently chosen to drag with him. He clutched his phone to his shoulder with his ear as he attempted to rearrange the leash, the books, his phone, and really his life in general.  
The first thing to hit the ground was his coffee, which was still fairly warm and he cursed loudly as it splashed up the pantleg of his favorite grey shoes. Suede shoes none the less. Then the notebooks landed, of course, directly in the puddle, and his phone crashed to the sidewalk beside him. It probably shattered into a million pieces. That’s how this fucking day was going. He stooped down to collect his belongings, now empty coffee cup into a nearby trash bin, trying to stuff at least the book into his pocket, he managed to get most of it resituated as he muttered a myriad of colorful words his mother would definitely not be proud of. As he rose back to his full 6’2” frame, he didn’t even notice the leash slip from his hand. It wasn’t until he saw his chocolate colored cocker spaniel dash in front of him down the pavement that he even realized what had happened.  
“BOBBY! NO!” he shouted. “I gotta go!” he snapped into the phone before abruptly ended the call and jogging off after his runaway companion. “Goddammit, no! Come back, boy!”  
This mission seemed superfluous. As far as he could tell his Bobby was long gone and there were far too many people for him to see exactly where. But just as he had nearly lost all hope, the crowd seemed to almost part, allowing a brunette with a chin-length bob to come into view, his overly excited puppy in her arms.  
“Oh my god, thank you,” Tom huffed, a bit out of breath from the bit of excitement. “You’re an angel.”  
“He ran right to me,” the girl said with a laugh. “That’s a hard face to say no to.”  
“Seriously, you… may have just prevented this from becoming the absolute worst day ever, so… you have my never-ending gratitude.”  
“It’s not a problem, really. I would hope someone would do the same for me,” she said with a sparkling smile that probably would have enchanted the man had he not been so distracted that day. There was a moment of silence as Tom caught his breath and straightened himself out a bit.  
“Why don’t you get yourself cleaned up?” she offered with a nod to a coffee shop behind them. “I’ll hang on to him for a minute.”  
“Seriously?” Tom asked, surprised. “I can’t ask you to do that.”  
“You’re not. I’m offering. We’ll be fine.”  
Tom shook his head, a smile finally forming on his scruffy, chiseled jawline. “An angel, legitimately. I won’t be two minutes.”  
“It’s fine. Go.”  
“I’m Tom, by the way.”  
“Daphne.” 

It wasn’t until he was exiting the restroom that he realized his last move probably hadn’t been the best idea. Leaving his dog with a complete stranger in the middle of the London sidewalk? He probably didn’t HAVE a dog any more, and he certainly didn’t deserve him after this. Worst doggie dad ever.  
But as he neared the large window at the front of the shop, he was relieved to find that both Daphne and Bobby were still there, now seated at a table on the patio.  
“I’m sorry that took so long,” Tom said with his sickeningly sweet grin. “There was a bit of a line.”  
“It’s no problem,” Daphne insisted. “We’ve been getting to know each other.”  
“He adores you,” Tom stated as Bobby pawed at the girl’s pant leg.  
“Well the feeling is mutual,” Daphne responded, ruffling the hair on the top of the pup’s head. “How old is he?”  
“Six months, give or take,” Tom answered. “I just got him a few weeks ago.”  
“He’s adorable.”  
“He is indeed,” Tom smiled. “Did you order anything?”  
“Oh, no. We were just waiting.”  
“Well, let me at least buy you coffee. I at least owe you that,” Tom offered. There was a brief bit of silence that made him feel as though he’d overstepped. “I mean, unless you have somewhere to be. I don’t want to keep you any longer.”  
“Oh no, I’m fine. I’ve got a bit of time,” Daphne stated. “But you really don’t have to do that. It was no trouble at all.”  
“I insist. Please. What would you like?”  
“Black, two sugars.”  
“You’ve got it. I’ll be right back… again...”  
Daphne chuckled a bit. “We’ll be waiting… again…”  
“I certainly hope so.” 

Two cups of coffee later they were still talking and laughing. Tom had nearly forgotten his horrendous morning and the bite to the air seemed to have stopped. It was actually a beautiful day, including the company.  
“So you live here, in London?” Tom asked, taking a sip of his third.  
“At least for now,” Daphne answered with a shrug. “I’m kind of all over the place.”  
“What do you do?”  
“Um, I’m an executive chef for a hotel chain. Basically, I come in when they open new places, hire the kitchen staff, train them and then I’m off to the next,” Daphne answered. “I was in Portugal for a couple of months before I came here. Before that was Tokyo.”  
“Wow,” Tom stated, a bit impressed. “And here I thought I lived a life lacking consistency.”  
She laughed. This time he noticed her smile, bright and sparkling like the sun in the sky above. “I’ve never been one for staying one place for long, so… it’s kind of perfect for me.”  
“Yeah, but… you’ve got to have a home, right? I mean… a place you go when there’s no work to be done?”  
Daphne shrugged. “I’m from Canada. If I’m not working I’m usually in Winnipeg with my dad, I suppose. I have an apartment in New York City but I can’t honestly tell you the last time I spent any substantial time there.”  
“Must make it hard to have… ya know, a real life.”  
Daphne pursed her lips but nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I suppose you could say that,” she said with a bit of a chuckle. “But at the same time, I get to see the most beautiful places in the world essentially for free. I have friends all over the world. I don’t know. It works for me.”  
“And what about a significant other? Does it work for them?”  
Daphne’s chuckle grew into full on laughter. “I would have to have one of those for that to matter. This life doesn’t really allow time to cultivate anything real. Which is fine. I have awful taste in men so it’s probably better to that.”  
“Well I can drink to that,” Tom stated.  
“You seemed a bit sad,” Daphne responded. “Recent?”  
“No, actually, not recent enough just… ripped wide open once again.”  
Daphne snarled her top lip sympathetically. “I suppose being in the spotlight at all times make wounds a little harder to heal.”  
Tom nodded and then scoffed a bit. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you?”  
“It’s hard not to. Plus there’s a couple photographers across the street that have been watching us… pretty much since we sat down.”  
Tom rolled his eyes and tried to inconspicuously pick his stalkers out. It wasn’t difficult to do, he just didn’t know how inconspicuous he’d actually been. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into the madness that is currently my life.”  
“It’s fine. You didn’t have to drag very hard,” Daphne stated with a grin. She finished off the mug in front of her and glanced at her watch. “I’m afraid I do have to run though. I’ve got a bunch of interviews lined up and I’m fairly certain I have to be in attendance.”  
“That’s unfortunate,” Tom grinned in return.  
“I’m inclined to agree with you at the moment.”  
“Well, since you’re just kind of settling in here, we should… have dinner or something, sometime… maybe…”  
“I’d really like that.”  
“Good. Good, so would I.”  
Daphne dug into the small purse on the table before her and pulled out a case of business cards. “Here. My cell’s at the bottom. Don’t call the office. It’s in Dallas and I’d never get the message.”  
“I will definitely not do that then,” Tom smirked. Daphne Grenier, aka Tom Hiddleston’s current hero. He rose in unison with the girl, making sure his chair leg was still pinning Bobby’s leash. “It was absolutely lovely meeting you. Truly.”  
“Same to you,” she smiled.  
There was a bit of awkwardness as each party trying to decide on their next move, but Tom Hiddleston was a hugger and that quickly won out. He gave her a tight but quick squeeze. “Thank you, again, seriously. I… I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost him.”  
“Well you didn’t, so luckily you don’t have to think about it.” Daphne squatted down and ruffled Bobby’s fur once again. “Bye buddy. Stop running away from your dad. You’re gonna give him a heart attack.”  
“That’s a fair assessment,” Tom laughed as she stood back up. “I’ll call. Soon.”  
“I hope so. See you later.” She gave his forearm a squeeze before she began down the sidewalk, Bobby barking in defiance of her departure.  
“Bye!” Tom called after her. She waved and quickly blended in to the people around her on the sidewalk, but Tom still stared after her. “I know, buddy,” he sighed upon hearing his pup whining. “I feel the same.” 

“You had coffee with Tom Hiddleston? Are ya fucking kidding me?”  
Daphne laughed at her best friend as she sat in the office of the new five-star hotel she was attempting to staff.  
The building was immense and gaudily decorated, almost ostentatious. Entirely white and gold, with chandeliers lining every area a guest could possibly see and marble floors that made every shoe sound more like a hoof than a human foot. Daphne had finished her string of interviews for the day and they’d left her less than hopeful. Which might be alright. Her interest in London had definitely piqued since her run-in with a movie star and his adorable friend.  
“It’s not like it was purposeful. Completely happenstance.”  
“You’re in London two days and meet like their biggest heartthrob. I want your life,” her friend Moira sighed from Vancouver.  
“You could’ve been there. I invited you to join me.”  
“Yes, well, my job doesn’t exactly let me jet set to dreamy movie stars on a regular basis.”  
“This doesn’t happen every time. It was completely by accident. His dog just happened to run into my arms. He was being… appreciative.”  
“And then he asked for your number.”  
“Not really. He said we should get dinner. I gave him my card.”  
“You’re gonna fucking fall in love with some fancy British guy. I can feel it.”  
“I doubt it,” Daphne laughed. “I don’t think he’s looking to fall in love with anyone. He still seems pretty hung up on…”  
“Don’t even say it. I’ll puke all over this phone.”  
Daphne giggled again. “I feel bad. Like every story you’ve ever heard is true. He’s the sweetest guy in the world and… he just looked so downtrodden.”  
“Oh well, allow you to make him feel better.”  
“Stop. You’re ridiculous,” Daphne stated. She glanced at the clock on the desk she was currently using as her own. “I should go. I’ve been here far longer than I ever wanted to be.”  
“How’d it go?”  
“I don’t know. There were a couple people that would be okay but no one I really feel comfortable leaving this place in the hands of. If I fuck this up…”  
“You’re not going to. You never do,” Moira assured. “Plus, maybe you should get back in the kitchen yourself. London sounds promising.”  
“You’re an idiot,” Daphne stated. She then laughed. “Go to bed. It’s like… two in the morning.”  
“I can’t sleep! I’m lonely and dying of jealousy!”  
“I love you,” Daphne chuckled.  
“I love you too. Text me the second you hear from him.”  
“I probably won’t.”  
“You will. I know it.”  
“Okay, fairy godmother. Whatever you say.”  
“Goodnight, best friend!”  
“Goodnight, you nutjob.” Daphne hung up and sighed. She was trying to convince herself she didn’t care if she heard from the man again as she scrolled through new texts and found nothing. However, she knew if she didn’t, she’d be a bit disappointed. It was always nice to have at least one friend in a new place.


	2. Chapter 2

“I just… I think… I think you may wanna… rethink about going out tonight. The paps… their out for blood now.”   
Tom groaned in annoyance. It had been over two weeks since he’d met Daphne and tonight was finally supposed to be the dinner he had promised. Now here he was, a mere ninety minutes before, being told he should probably stay in.   
The ex had made another move. This time doing basically an all-out expose on their short-lived relationship, complete with a music video starring a curly haired lookalike. There was no mistaking it was supposed to be him. And the media was chomping at the bit for his rebuttal, one he wasn’t interested in giving.   
He glanced at the Rolex on his wrist. He was already dressed and ready to go. He’d made reservations earlier in the week and dammit, he was excited. He and Daphne had spent the last few days texting back and forth, perhaps flirting a bit, but mostly just getting to know each other. She was fun and spunky, a spitfire if there ever was one and he liked her. At least in a friendly way. His head wasn’t exactly in the place to think of it as much more than anything else. Regardless, he was really looking forward to the night and now he was supposed to cancel the one night in both of their busy schedules that finally worked out? Bullshit.   
“I can’t cancel. We’re supposed to meet… like soon… That’d be insanely rude.”   
“Tom, look, I get it,” Luke, his PR agent and longtime friend and confidant, began. “You just want to live your life, and… you should be able to. I WANT you to be able to, but these people… they’re animals. I don’t want you to have to go through that and I definitely don’t want her to. There’s already photos from the day you met. Do you really want to overwhelm her with this before you even know what it is?”   
Tom sighed, knowing Luke was right. He whined a bit and brushed back his reddish blonde curls. “No. No. You’re right… I’ll call her. I’ll figure it out.”   
“I’m sorry, Tom. Really.”   
“Yeah. Yeah, me too.”   
“I’m just looking out for you, man. Both of you.”   
“I know that and… I appreciate it,” Tom stated. “I just… I’m getting really sick of all of this. The aftermath is lasting far longer than the relationship did.”   
“We’ll get through it. Always do.”   
“Yeah. Yeah. Just… keep fending them off until I figure out what to do, I guess?”   
“Nothing, Tom. We do nothing. She doesn’t get that gratification.”   
Tom scoffed a bit. “If only I had listened to… basically the entire world right off the bat.”   
“Hey, love makes us stupid. Not just you.”   
“Well it appears I was the only one truly in love, so that’s fun,” Tom sighed. He took a breath. “Okay. I gotta go. I gotta call Daph before she’s all dolled up and ready for no fucking reason.”   
“I’m sorry, mate.”   
“It’s fine. We’ll just… we’ll figure something else out. It’s okay.”   
“Good luck.”   
“Thanks. Later.” Tom hung up and took a deep breath before clicking on his new pal’s number. He was a bit heartbroken, but it was what had to be done.   
She answered almost instantly. “Are you okay?”   
Tom laughed. “Jesus. Good news travels fast, huh?”   
“It’s everywhere, Tom. I can’t get on Facebook and not see some bullshit,” Daphne stated. “I’m so sorry.”   
“Don’t be. You didn’t do anything.”   
“No, but… you don’t deserve this. You’re like the sweetest guy in the world. It’s not fair.”   
“You’re sweet,” Tom responded with a sad smile. He took a deep breath. “Which… makes the need to cancel tonight make me feel that much worse.”   
“No, Tom! Don’t do that.”   
“I have to. I’m sorry. I can’t put you through this insanity. It’s not fair.”   
“Okay, so we just switch gears,” Daphne argued. “We don’t have to cancel. I’ve been counting down the minutes all fucking day. You’re not taking this away from me, Hiddleston. I ain’t gonna let you.”   
Tom couldn’t help but laugh. Her adamance was nothing if not flattering. “Alright, then, what do you suggest, darling?”   
“First of all, I’m gonna melt if you keep up with the darling stuff so, chill,” Daphne teased. “Second… I’ll just swing by the market. I’ll get stuff to make dinner and a TON of booze. I’m talking… a literal ton, and we’ll just have a chill night in. It’ll be perfect.”   
“You really don’t have to go to all that trouble.”   
“Stop telling me what I need to do,” Daphne stated. “Can’t a girl just wanna hang out with the cutest boy in England?”   
If anyone was in the room they would’ve seen Tom’s cheeks glow a bright red. “I don’t know about that now.”   
“I meant Bobby.”   
Tom let out a loud guffaw which awoke the sleeping pup on the sofa behind him. “Alright. That’s completely valid.”   
“Good. So, I am gonna head out then. Text me your address and… I will see you soon.”   
“I can’t wait,” Tom gleamed.   
“Me either. Bye.”   
“Bye.”   
Tom hung up and chuckled to himself. It had been a long time since anyone had been so intent on his presence. At least it felt like it had. And he’d have been lying if he’d said that all of this, all of her whatever it was, didn’t feel nice at the moment. Incredibly nice.

It wasn’t even an hour later that there was a knock at his front door. He’d changed into something less dressy; jeans, a royal blue sweater. He was busying himself about the house, tidying up for the unexpected change of plans, but the second he heard her knock he all but ran toward the front door. As he yanked it open he couldn’t help but laughing, finding Daphne, eyes wide, hood up around her face as if a blizzard had set in. It hadn’t. Unless you counted the gaggle of camera flashes from across the street as a blizzard.   
“This is fucking insanity,” she stated, obviously not amused.   
“I’m so sorry,” Tom laughed as he apologized. He hoped it didn’t make him sound ingenuine, but she looked like an Eskimo with her big furry hood up over her face.   
His laughter apparently didn’t phase her as she walked and he quickly shut the door behind her. She dropped the hood and set down the array of grocery bags in her hands. “How in the hell do you deal with that every day?” she asked as she unzipped her jacket. “I would lose my mind.”   
“It comes close, occasionally,” Tom answered. “Today is by far the worst it’s been. I mean, for me… here in London anyway.”   
“Fucking animals,” Daphne sighed. Tom took her jacket, hanging it away in a coat closet. “I’m so sorry this is how your day has been.”   
“You don’t need to apologize. Really. Give em a few days and they’ll find someone else to harass. I’m not that interesting.”   
“I beg to differ.”   
Tom simply grinned and took a step closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I’m glad you’re here.”   
“Me too,” Daphne responded, her arms tightly around his neck. She looked around the home. It was honestly much more modest than she expected. He was a star, after all. The vision in her head was much more ritzy and glamorous. But this was… humble, which was the vibe the man had been giving her all along. “Okay, where’s who I really came to see?”   
Tom chuckled. “He’s out in the yard. I was trying to tidy up and he was underfoot.”   
“Aw, you cleaned for me? So cute.”   
“What can I say?” Tom asked as he headed for the patio door. “Mum raised me well.” When he opened the door, Daphne’s best friend bolted for her, immediately pawing at her legs and begging to be picked up, to which she obviously obliged. Tom chuckled and shook his head. “I swear, he likes you better than he likes me.”   
“He has good taste,” Daphne stated as the pup lapped at her face. She cooed and awed at the dog before setting him back on the floor. “Alright, so I was going to come in here and make some big, disgustingly fancy, impressive dinner but I decided I didn’t want to work that hard.”   
“That’s fair,” Tom laughed.   
“So instead… there is pizza on the way and… I brought junk food. Lots of it. If we’re doing a night in we’re gonna do it right.”   
“I am sold.”   
“And I brought whisky… and wine, but I feel like whisky is gonna be the go-to.”   
“I can already feel tomorrow’s headache.”   
“If we do this right.” 

They did it right. A couple of hours later and they were both fairly intoxicated and stuffed with every junk food one could possibly think of. Tom was sitting on the floor, leaning up against his sofa, while Daphne laid on it, upside down. Her head was hanging off the edge, her legs posted against the back. If Tom didn’t already have a good feel for the girl, he would’ve found it odd, but it wasn’t. It was just her.   
“I don’t know how you do it,” she stated, her mouth half full of gummy bears. “If I had people stalking me around like that, I’d be arrested for assaulting someone in no time flat.”   
Tom chuckled. “You learn to ignore it. You have to. Reacting to them only causes more problems.”   
“You’re a better human that I am.”   
“I doubt that very much,” Tom stated.   
“You shouldn’t. I’m actually pretty awful,” Daphne said with a laugh. “I just put on a good front til everyone gets comfortable.”   
“I’m already comfortable, so how’s that plan working out for you?”  
“You must be desperate for company.”   
“Perhaps I am.”   
She watched as Tom’s head dropped down, eyeing the half full glass of whisky in his hand as his finger ran the rim. He was sad. He was trying to hide it but the more the Jameson set in, the easier it was for her to see. “You know what we need?” she asked, kicking herself off the couch and onto her feet.   
“What’s that?” Tom asked.   
“Dance party.”   
Tom smiled and shook his head. “What do you wanna listen to?”   
“No, I’ve got a playlist. Just show me where to plug in,” Daphne stated, running toward the front door and digging her phone from her purse. Tom did as instructed and as the first song began, Daphne cranked it as loud as she could.   
Tom stared at her a moment, a familiar and not exactly welcome voice in the moment, hitting his ears. “Come on now…”   
“No, no. Just listen to me,” Daphne pleaded, heading for the man and reaching for his hands to pull him to his feet. “You gotta take back the power.”   
“What are you talking about?” he whined as she began dancing to the tune in front of him.   
“Take it back. Right now. Sitting here sad, letting all of this get to you, she has the power. She doesn’t deserve it. It’s a fucking shitty pop song, Tom, there’s a million of them. And all they’re good for is dancing.”   
“I can’t,” he said with a wave of his head. “Let’s just switch the song.”   
“Nope. You can. You have to. Or she’s going to torture you forever without even doing anything. Don’t give her that ability.”   
“It’s not even about her right now…”   
“I know it’s not, babe, but…”   
“I can’t do it,” Tom said firmly, his head waving back and forth and back again. “Not right now. I really can’t.”   
“Okay,” Daphne gave in. Considering they’d only known each other two weeks she didn’t think she should push him any further so she headed over and switched the track. It was another shitty pop song, but it was a different shitty pop song and that’s what he needed. “Better?”   
“Yes. Thank you,” Tom stated as she headed back toward him. He reached for her hand. “I’m sorry. I promise when I am ready to… dance the power back, you will be the first person to know.”   
“Don’t be sorry. I push too hard sometimes,” she responded as they began swaying together to the beat. “I told you I’m an asshole.”   
“No, you’re good. I get what you’re trying to do and… I appreciate the effort. Today’s just not the day.”   
“Well then we shall speak of it no more!” Daphne exclaimed. “But you’re still dancing with me.”   
“Without question.” 

“I don’t think I believe in all that,” Daphne stated, staring up at the ceiling from her spot on the floor. Another few hours had passed. The whisky was completely gone and now the wine nearly was to. They had danced for what seemed like forever, giggling and acting like teenagers at a slumber party. But they weren’t teenagers and they got tired. And now they were both laying on the carpet doing the drunken deep conversation portion of the evening.   
“What!?” Tom exclaimed from his spot next to her. “How can you say that!?”  
“Because I can?” Daphne retorted with laughter. “What proof do you have that ‘forever’ even exists in relation to another person? How many times have you heard that word just to have it burn down around you? It’s bullshit. It’s all bullshit. Forever doesn’t exist. Love… love is nothing but an emotion and emotions change like the weather. You’re better off being alone. Less disappointing that way.”   
Tom waved his head slightly, shocked at the girl’s statement. “I can’t even believe what I’m hearing. Love is the best emotion! The warm, fuzziness of it all… it’s the best.”   
“Well, you’re an idiot.”   
“Are you trying to tell me you’ve never been in love? Never? Not once?”   
“Of course, I have. But what has it gotten me? A shitload of tears and about twenty spare pounds,” she stated, patting her stomach. “I don’t need that shit.”   
“Bitter much?”   
“Maybe I am. But I also don’t cry myself to sleep at night so I’m okay with that.”   
“Jesus. Who hurt you?”   
“Who hasn’t?” Daphne retorted with a scoff. It was now Tom’s turn to watch her eyes drift away. “I have never seen a relationship work out in all of my life. Not family, not friends, nothing. Fuck. My mom told me when I was twelve that if it wasn’t for me and my brothers she wouldn’t even be with my father. And she stayed for ten more years. And I grew up knowing that. I grew up knowing that every fight they had, every time she screamed at him, that I was basically responsible for it. I knew details of their relationship no kid should know and then when I was at uni she finally left. Without any warning. She left my dad and my little brothers to fend for themselves. They were still in high school for fuck’s sake. Now she’s in Florida, god knows where doing god knows what and…” She paused, obviously a bit choked up. “It just doesn’t happen. People say things they don’t mean all the time. And then they leave. They always leave.”   
Tom silently stared at her for a moment. He was a bit taken aback by the stream of honesty he’d just received, but it also made him a bit sad. “Daph, that’s not normal. Nothing that happened was your fault. My parent’s divorced when I was a teenager and… it was never like that.”  
“See? No forevers.”   
“You can’t let that control the rest of your life.”   
“Says the guy who made me change a song?”   
Tom’s face scrunched in embarrassment. “Alright, alright. Fair. But… I’m not letting what happened with her take away the hope that it’ll happen eventually, you know? There’s someone out there. I know there is.”   
“Well, for you, maybe there is. Me? Not a chance.”   
“Stop it. You’re incredible.”   
“I’m really not. I’m completely fucked up actually as you could probably tell from that little tirade there. I drink too much. I swear way too much and… I keep everyone an arm’s length away. You’ll get sick of me.”   
“Shut up.”   
Daphne began giggling. “It’s already kicking in.”   
“No, it isn’t,” Tom argued. “If anything I want to hang out with you more.”   
“Oh you poor fool.”   
Tom grabbed at the pillow next to him before tossing it over his body at the girl. “Stop it.”   
“Look, there are few things I’m good at. It’s cooking and self-deprecation. If you don’t like it, there’s the door.”   
“It’s MY house.”   
“Oh, fuck. Yeah.”   
The duo burst into giggles, rolling around on the surprisingly soft grey carpet beneath them. Eventually they were side by side, Daphne’s head resting against Tom’s shoulder, his arm snuggly around her.   
Tom, still laughing a bit, closed his eyes. “Can we just sleep here?”   
“Ugh. It’s late. I should go.”   
“No. You’re not going anywhere. You can’t drive.”   
“Call a cab,” Daphne mumbled.   
“Nope. I’ve got plenty of room. It’s fine.”   
“The jokers outside will have a field day with that.”   
Tom rose both hands of the air, flipping both of his middle fingers in the air. “Fuck em.”   
“I’m rubbing off on you already.”   
“I like it.”


	3. Chapter 3

“We’re going out tonight.”  
Tom laughed as he headed to catch a train for a meeting. “Is that you asking me to go out or more of a demand?”  
“Um, hello, probably the later,” Daphne answered. “It’s like you don’t know me at all.”  
He definitely knew her. Ever since their drunken slumber party they’d been pretty much inseparable and that was nearly a month ago now. They’d done everything together. From outings with friends to him showing her around London. From dinners to the theatre. Hell, at this point she’d even met his mother. They’d become fast friends and Tom wouldn’t have it any other way. She was strikingly different from a lot of the people in his life and it was refreshing. She was honest, sometimes brutally so. She didn’t care what the world thought of her, and they had some things to say. Sure, the paparazzi had died off on the whole ex-girlfriend front, but now he was being seen about town with some tattooed, mouthy spitfire and the tabloids were once again ablaze. But he didn’t care. She made him feel young. She made him feel like a real person instead of just some celebrity the world fawned over.  
“So, what’re we doing?” he spoke, almost afraid of the answer.  
“Someone gave me some tickets to one of the dopes from OneDirection. The blonde one… the cute one, I don’t know. Apparently, he’s doing some small show at a bar.”  
“If you’re calling him a dope, why are we going?” Tom asked with a laugh.  
“Um, because it’s a bar and we can dance. What the hell other reason do you need, Hiddleston?”  
“We need to talk about your drinking,” Tom said mockingly.  
“Like hell we do.”  
“Alright then. What time?”  
“Um… I’ve still got a ton of shit to do here. I don’t know. I’ll pick you up maybe eight-ish?”  
“You’re picking me up? You sure know how to make a man feel like a lady.”  
“Sorry to wound your machismo,” Daphne teased. He could practically hear the roll of her golden brown eyes from the other end of the phone.  
“I’m joking. I’ll see you later.”  
“Bye!”  
Tom just shook his head and hung up his phone, stuffing it into his pocket as he arrived at his train stop. It didn’t matter what they did, he was going to have fun. He always did. 

“You are like… radiantly glowing,” Luke stated. He and Tom had finished with the meeting and were now at lunch. Luke had turned off the PR agent and slipped into friend mode, intent on getting dirt on the new girl in Tom Hiddleston’s life.  
Tom shoulders shook as he chuckled silently. “I’m having fun. She’s… an incredible distraction.”  
“Are you guys…”  
“What?” Tom asked, biting the end off a breadstick.  
“You know,” Luke replied, with an awkward shrug. “Are you like, dating or…”  
Tom’s eyes narrowed as he shook his head. “No. No. We’re just friends. I mean, we flirt like crazy but… that’s it. That’s all. Just having a good time.”  
“Are you sure about that because that is an awfully large smile on your face.”  
Tom laughed out loud this time. “I mean…” He thought a moment before his head waved once again. “No, man. We’re friends. She’s great. She’s… amazing but… it’d never work.”  
“Why?”  
“Well for starters, she is adamant about how much she stays away from relationships,” Tom answered. “In the end we want completely different things so there’s really no use in even starting. Someone would just end up getting hurt.”  
“So, you just walk the streets holding hands to what? Rile up the ol’ media shitstorm?”  
Tom pressed his tongue into the back of his teeth as he snickered. “That was her idea. She… enjoys messing with them… a little too much perhaps.”  
“Well, no matter what is going on, I think she’s good for you. It’s nice to see a smile back on that face more often than not,” Luke stated.  
“It feels good,” Tom agreed. “I’m genuinely happy again and… it feels like it’s been a really long time since I could say that. She’s just like… this glowing orb of positive energy. It’s contagious. I can’t not be happy.”  
“Good. That’s all I want,” Luke smiled.  
“All I want is lunch,” Tom said with a smirk as he finally picked up his menu.  
Luke chuckled. “Easily done.” He watched Tom for a moment over the top of his own menu. His smile had faded. He’d known Tom a long time. A very long time. Which was exactly the reason he smelled trouble brewing. 

The show was fine, after a few drinks anyway. Tom was more entertained by his company and the insanity of the fan girls around them. The show may have been eighteen and up, but that didn’t stop women of all shapes and sizes from packing into the fairly small, dimly lit bar. The singer had to be doing a friend a favor. There was no way any booking agent worth their weight in sand would’ve booked this place as a venue. But… here he was and here they were.  
In the midst of the OneDirection fan frenzy, Tom managed to find a few admirers of his own which Daphne found highly entertaining. He dished out hellos and hugs and photo ops, while his companion looked on, most of the time getting roped into being his personal photographer. But she didn’t mind. He was in his element with these complete strangers and she was kind of in awe of the man. He was so kind, so sweet, so interested in absolutely ever person that approached him. He was one of the good ones.  
They danced. Lord, did they dance. And they laughed as they always did and when the show ended, just before midnight, the duo decided they weren’t quite ready to call it a night. So, Tom phoned a few friends before finally finding a few that were also out on the town and deciding to meet up. Once again, the friends were off.  
“What do you want?” he asked his partner in crime.  
Daphne gave him a look that could only be described as disgusted. “Moscow Mule, duh,” she retorted.  
Tom rolled his eyes. “Why’d I even ask?” he drummed his hands on the table top before pressing a kiss into the side of the girl’s head. “Be right back.”  
Daphne chuckled and shook her head before turning back to his friends where she found every single set of eyes at the table on her. It was a bit intimidating, and Daphne wasn’t the type to be intimidated by much.  
“So, you’re the gal making our little Tom nothing but grins again?” the tall, blonde, Andrew, she thought his name was, asked with a grin.  
Daphne scoffed, a bit unsure of his implication. “Um, I guess so.”  
“He talks about you all the time.”  
“That’s… flattering,” Daphne stated, her voice shaking a bit with nervousness. “I don’t typically find myself that interesting.”  
“Well, he definitely does.”  
“Well, he’s weird, so… I’m not surprised.”  
“I don’t think Tom’s ever brought home a girl like you before,” Andrew’s girlfriend, Jamie, stated, obviously looking down her nose at the newbie in their group. She seemed snooty right off the bat. Daphne didn’t like her the minute they were within four feet of each other. It was becoming obvious she wasn’t alone.  
Daphne waved her head. “I, um, I’m not sure what that means, really, but… we’re definitely just friends. I wouldn’t say he’s bringing anyone home.”  
“You sure?” Andrew asked with an annoying crooked smirk. “Cuz he is sure looking over here a lot for just being friends.”  
Daphne glanced over her shoulder hoping to catch him, but he was already headed back, drinks in hand, so she quickly spun her gaze back to the table.  
“Here you are, milady,” Tom stated, setting the copper cup down in front of her and keeping his gin and soda in his hand.  
“Thanks,” Daphne smiled, attempting to avoid eye contact at all costs as she tucked her hair behind her ears. “I got next round.”  
“It’s fine,” Tom stated, shrugging his leather jacket clad shoulders. “Not exactly worried about it.”  
Daphne fought the urge to guzzle her entire drink as Tom’s attention turned to his pals. This was bad. This was all bad. All, all, completely and totally, utterly bad. 

She’d been ‘off’ the remainder of the evening. Tom had noticed almost instantly. He wasn’t stupid and he’d spent more than enough time with her to known when she was acting strangely, even if none of the rest of his friends could. She was quiet, sipping on her drinks, barely adding anything to conversations other than a smile and a nod. She disappeared more than normal, stepping out for cigarettes or running off to the bathroom for the hundredth time. She wouldn’t even square up to the dart board with him, and there were few things Daphne liked more than kicking Tom’s ass at… well, really anything. Needless to say, he was concerned, and that concern only grew when they headed home just after two the next morning.  
“Daph! Stop!” Tom commanded, nearly having to jog to even keep up with the girl. His legs were twice as long as hers, but she was fast. Tasmanian devil fast. “What the hell is going on?”  
“Nothing,” she insisted, still marching away, hands stuffed stiffly into her jacket pockets.  
“Right. That’s why you’re sprinting away from me.”  
Daphne stopped upon realizing he was correct. She hadn’t meant to do so, it just happened. In a fight or flight situation, she always chose flight. Without even thinking about it. Just her gut reaction. Even in stupid, petty things like this. “I’m just cold is all.”  
“Bullshit,” Tom stated, finally standing at the girl’s side. “You’re a terrible liar.” He stared at her as she remained silent and statuesque. “Come on. Spill.”  
“What do you think this is?”  
Tom’s head jerked back and waved, bewildered by the question he’d just heard. “Um… sorry?”  
“Seriously. Just… be honest. What do you think we are?”  
“We’re… friends…?” Tom answered. Well, he more asked. He was still very confused as to what was going on. “What else am I supposed to think?”  
“Nothing. Never mind.” Daphne wove her head and waved her gloved hand. Now she felt stupid.  
Tom didn’t have to ‘never mind.’ The look on her face had ended his confusion. “What did they say?” he asked with a groan.  
Daphne chuckled a bit. “It’s dumb. Just… some stupid shit about how you haven’t stopped smiling since we met…”  
“That’s not false.”  
“And how different I am than… any other girl you’ve apparently brought home.”  
“Also, not a lie…”  
“And you staring.”  
Tom snorted out a laugh. “Staring? I was staring trying to make sure I didn’t throw you to the wolves, which… apparently I did.” Daphne smiled sheepishly. “Daphne, nothing they said holds any more meaning than… what it is. Yes, I’ve smiled a hell of a lot more since we met. Yes, you are glaringly different than pretty much everyone I’ve ever introduced them to, but that doesn’t mean… we are anything other than friends.”  
“I know, I know that,” Daphne stated, shaking her head. “They just… freaked me out a bit. I’ve had that conversation with people before and… it always ends really poorly for the friend they’re talking about. I hurt people, Tom. That’s what I do. And… you are pretty much on the bottom of the list of people I’m interested in hurting.”  
“You’re not going to,” Tom assured in a playful tone, tugging the girl into his arms. “They were just being weird. I promise. There are… absolutely no miscommunications as to what this is, Daph. You’ve been very clear.”  
“I know, but… lines blur and… things happen that confuse things and it gets weird and… I just wanna make sure I’m not sending different signals. I tend to lead people on without having any idea that’s what I’m doing.”  
“You’re not leading anyone on. I’m not even in that headspace at this moment, okay?” Tom assured. He pressed his lips against the side of her head and slipped an arm around her shoulder as they finally began walking again. “I swear if I start falling in love with you, you will be the first person to know.”  
“Just kill yourself. It’ll be easier.”  
Tom tried not to laugh, but he couldn’t help it, despite the fact it made him a little sad how she spoke of herself. “You and I seem to know very different people.”  
Daphne smiled sweetly, reaching up to hold his hand that rested upon her shoulder. “You’ll see.”  
“I don’t think that I will,” Tom argued. “Besides… I wouldn’t really worry about it anyway, you’re not exactly my type.” He grinned and thrust a hip into hers playfully.  
“Aw you’re right,” Daphne retorted. “I’m not some little blonde man eating snake.”  
“Oh! Ouch!” Tom laughed loudly. “Ah. That was brutal!”  
“If the shoe fits.”  
“Rude. You’re quite rude.”  
“And you’re an ass.”  
“Well if that’s the case, we might be quite perfect together then.”  
“Shut up.”  
“Let’s get married!”  
“Tom.”  
“What? Maybe it’s fate.”  
“I hate you.”  
“Keep telling yourself that,” Tom stated. “I guarantee you’ll fall in love with me first. I’m irresistible.”  
“I’m finding it hard to resist pushing you into traffic right now.”  
“See? Irresistible.”


	4. Chapter 4

The next few months seemed to fly past. Snow fell, then melted, then fell again. London was a picturesque wonderland, but all the while Tom and Daphne’s time together remained constant. Despite meetings, and jobs, holidays and family gatherings, there was always time for each other. Tom had, in fact, attempted to coax Daphne into joining him for Christmas at his mother’s but she refused, choosing to instead remain in London and work. He did, however, manage to get her to agree to a long weekend in Paris. She had never been, and it was one of his favorite places on Earth, so he demanded they go. He showed her everything he loved about the city. All of the typical tourist destinations and all the little secret things he’d discovered on his many visits. It was a wonderful three days, but now they’d returned and there was only one thing on the agenda: New Year’s Eve.  
Tom being who he was had been granted many invitations to different parties throughout the city, but he had no interest in being red carpet candy for a magazine or an agency or anything of the sort. Daphne, instead, had presented another offer. The man who ran the hotel group she worked for, her boss essentially, was throwing a Casino Royale themed party, mostly to show off, but in the invitations, it stated for charity. It was a black tie, ball gown night on the town, and it sounded like way more fun than any of the stuffy parties Tom had been offered attendance to.  
Tom approached Daphne’s door in an incredibly crisp new tuxedo; black as night, complete with tails and a white bowtie that almost blended into his dress shirt. Clean shaven for the first time in months, his hair closely shorn aside from the curls on top and a smile on his face the size of a small island, he knocked on her door.  
She was living in a rented condominium, and would continue to until her stay ended. Her company paid for it and yet they spared no expense. It was in one of the foremost luxury complexes in London, all marble and granite, modern and sleek. He’d been there a handful of times, mostly to pick the girl up or drop her off, but they never really hung out there. They mostly spent their time, or their rare nights in, at his home because she stated it felt more… well, homey.  
“It’s open!” he heard her voice shout. “Come in! I’m running late!”  
Tom chuckled as he could hear her bare feet darting across the hardwood floor on the other side of the door. He slowly opened the front door just as she shut the bedroom door at the end of the hall. “Am I early?” he asked with a laugh.  
“No! I got stuck at the office! Today was ridiculous!” she retorted. “Give me ten minutes. I just need to get into this dress.”  
“Take all the time you need, darling.”  
“What’ve I told you about that?”  
“Sorry.”  
“You are not.”  
Tom chuckled to himself as he looked around the room. She was right to feel his house was more a home. This place felt cold, empty. She had nothing there that really seemed to be… her. It was all so official. So temporary, but then, that was how she lived. She was in and out and on to the next. He found himself worrying about her unavoidable departure. Sure, he was certain they would remain friends, but, life would grow quite boring without her there, by his side, essentially all the time. It wouldn’t be the same.  
He found himself just staring at the floor under the toes of his shiny black dress shoes when he heard her bedroom door open. At first, he could only hear the sound of her heels clacking against the hardwood. He could barely see the girl down the dark hall, but the closer she got, the more his eyes widened. And the more his eyes widened, the more his mouth opened. If he didn’t know any better, and he was trying to convince himself he did, he could’ve sworn his heart was racing, his hands growing clammy. But one thing was for certain, Tom Hiddleston was speechless.  
It was as if she was moving in slow motion, but eventually she arrived before him. Her dress was an almost glowing red. Candy apple, the skirt satin and splitting just above the knee revealing glistening skin and high nude shoes. As his blue eyes rose upward, he found her torso wrapped tightly in nude and red lace, the neckline a plunging v. Her porcelain skin was made up, but ever so gently that all he noticed was her red lips and sharp black winged eyeliner. Her dark hair brushed her chin in loose waves and dangling diamond earrings peeked out from her hair when it moved as she walked.  
“What?” she asked with an almost nervous laugh.  
Tom collected himself with waving his head and a few blinks. “You… you look absolutely stunning.”  
“Stop,” she commanded, her cheeks flushing pink.  
“I… I can’t…” he stammered, his eyes scanning her up and down once again. “I’m afraid I might in fact be speechless.”  
“You’re a dork is what you are,” Daphne giggled. She held out her arm and a large glittering cuff. “Help?”  
Tom smiled sweetly and obliged, fastening the two tiny chains around her delicate wrist. “There,” he said with a grin. “Are we ready?”  
Daphne took a deep breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”  
“Are you alright?”  
“Yeah, I just… I don’t like these things. I feel so out of place.”  
“Well, I assure you, you do not look it,” Tom stated, his eyes glued to hers. “I’m going to be the luckiest man in that room tonight. I promise you that.”  
“You’re ridiculous,” Daphne refuted. She picked up a white fur wrap from the back of the sofa and draped it over her arms. “Alright, James Bond, let’s go.”  
Tom grinned brightly and extended an arm. “As you wish.”  
Daphne just chuckled and shook her head. With a few steps they were out the door and heading for the awaiting town car, at least one party excited to see what the night had in store. 

The ballroom was exquisitely decorated: bright lights, a dance floor, a bar that lined the entire the back wall and casino games as far as the eye could see. There were poker tables and craps tables, a roulette wheel and about a half dozen other things that Tom had never seen before. He’d never been one for gambling, but tonight, tonight he just wanted to have fun.  
The entire crowd was dressed to the nines, ball gowns and tuxedos as far as the eye could see. They were laughing and mingling, sipping champagne and of course martinis. He genuinely felt as though he were standing in a James Bond film, and he loved it.  
After mingling and making the rounds, a few drinks and some appetizers, Tom found himself at the bar to retrieve another beverage for both him and his date. There were two other gentlemen at the bar, both whom Daphne had introduced him to earlier, though he couldn’t remember their names. He knew one was her boss’s son, given the title of general manager for no other reason than blood, and the other an accountant or lawyer or something. They didn’t notice is presence, which soon became evident by their conversation.  
“That girl… she is…”  
“A tart?” the darker haired of the two asked with a laugh as he rose his glass to his lips.  
“Who says tart?” the blonder one retorted. “I’d give anything for a single night with her.”  
“You’re about the only one that hasn’t had one.”  
“I know! I don’t get it! It’s not like I haven’t tried.”  
“You’re probably the long game. You know, marry into the family and take over the company,” the accountant/lawyer stated.  
“I’d let her take me over.”  
Tom scowled as he swallowed down a lump in his throat. He was fighting the urge to speak up. He knew that Daphne would simply tell him it wasn’t worth it, but that didn’t make him feel any better. The way they were talking about her… it was disgusting.  
“Did you see who she walked in with? The movie star?”  
“Yeah, Hiddleston. Poor kid. And he thought Taylor Swift was a man-eater. She’s gonna destroy him.”  
“I’m kind of excited to see it.”  
“It must suck to be so desperate for love.”  
“And have literally the worst taste in women imaginable.”  
As the men laughed heartily together, Tom had enough. He cleared his throat as his drinks arrived before him. “Enjoy your evening, gentlemen.”  
He thought that his presence might have stunned the men into silence, but instead as he walked away, they laughed even louder than they had before. He arrived in front of Daphne, his jaw clenched in anger as he attempted to set down their drinks without smashing them into obliteration.  
Daphne gazed upon him, her eyebrows low with concern. “What happened? What’s going on?” she asked.  
Tom shook his head. “It’s nothing.”  
“Don’t lie to me, Hiddleston.”  
Tom chuckled a bit. “Those assholes at the bar…”  
“Bryan and Neil?” Daphne asked with a scoff. “What about em?”  
“They’re just…” Tom shook his head. “They’re talking trash. About me, which was fine. It’s the shit they were saying about you…”  
“Stop,” Daphne interrupted him, placing a hand on his chest. “They are not worth it.”  
“I had a feeling you were gonna say that.”  
“Well, it’s true. Bryan’s just mad because I won’t sleep with him.”  
“Yeah, he actually admitted that… and then the other one said you were just playing the long game. Like… Bryan was the chosen ending.”  
“I would rather die in the middle of the desert with a mouth full of sand,” Daphne stated. “The only reason I haven’t knocked his ass out is because I’d lose my job.” Tom smirked but hung his head. “Hey,” Daphne continued. “Don’t. Alright? Tonight’s about having fun. I could care less what those two douchebags think about me. In fact, the more terrible, the better because it means I’m not on their level.”  
“I really wanted to say something,” Tom stated, looking up from under the ridge of his eyebrows.  
“I know. Because you’re my white knight,” Daphne stated, clasping his hands loosely around his neck. “Just focus… on something else…”  
“Like?”  
“I dunno, me? The party? Poker? Anything?”  
“I’ll choose option one.”  
Daphne smiled brightly. “Good, let’s dance. Try to make Bryan as jealous as possible.”  
“I’m in.” 

Whatever Tom had been feeling about his run in with Dumb and Dumber at the bar soon melted away under a sea of liquor and dancing. The later the night got, the more modern the music got, and the less… classier the dancing. Tom had lost his jacket long ago, draped it on some chair, somewhere. Hopefully he’d remember when it came time to leave, but right at this moment all he could focus on was the girl in his arms.  
Beads of sweat mixed as their foreheads pressed together, hips swaying, hands roaming. He could feel her breath against his skin, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew Bryan and what’s-his-face were watching, but he didn’t care. Whether it was the booze or something much deeper, she was the only thing grabbing any portion of his attention.  
He could feel her, every inch of her, as song after song played. His hands rounded the curve of her hips as they ground against his. The bit of shadow on his jaw brushed against the softness of her cheeks. Lights flashed. The tips of their noses brushed. Bass thumped. He could practically feel her mouth upon his, but she’d always turn just before they touched. She was teasing him, whether it was purposefully or not. The space between them wasn’t even enough for a slip of paper. The crowd around them watched intently, but neither noticed, neither cared.  
After a while they needed a break. It was getting stuffy and Daphne was jonesing for a nicotine fix. Tom grabbed his jacket and her wrap and bag and they headed out a side door, into what would’ve probably been a very threatening dark alley had they been alone. Or sober.  
Tom tipped his head back on his shoulders and exhaled, his breath clouding above him in the winter air. “Seems nice out here now,” he stated, still panting a bit.  
“I don’t think I’ve ever danced this much in my entire life,” Daphne said as she exhaled a cloud of smoke.  
Tom chuckled. “We could, you know, not dance I suppose.”  
“I mean since I met you. Just like… in general. I don’t know anyone that dances as much as you do.”  
Tom exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders. “It makes me happy.”  
“Well, good,” Daphne beamed. “That’s really I care about.”  
Tom’s tongue peaked out of his mouth as he grinned, as his whole face just beamed. He stared at her moment as she went back to her cigarette. He wasn’t sure if it was the night itself, all the booze or the way they had danced, but something felt different. Something felt… he couldn’t describe it.  
He must’ve been staring for a long time because by the time he realized it, Daphne had stamped out her smoke and was heading back toward the door.  
“You ready?” she asked.  
“If you are.”  
She just smiled and shook her head as she grabbed the doorknob. But just as she got the door cracked just a bit open, Tom grabbed her other hand and pulled her back toward him, instantly thrusting his lips upon hers.  
She froze, not because she was cold, but out of utter shock. She didn’t not kiss him back. She did, in fact. It could’ve been because she was drunk or because there was an obvious attraction, a fool could’ve seen that, but that didn’t negate her confusion.  
As he pulled back, she blinked her eyes. He was staring and smiling when she finally got them to stay open.  
“What are you doing?” she asked softly.  
“Happy New Year’s?” he said with a shrug.  
Daphne chuckled and shook her head. “Tom… you do not wanna start this with me. I’m telling you, it’s a bad idea.”  
“It’s just a kiss,” he chuckled, beginning to grow nervous that he had in fact made the wrong move.  
“It’s never just a kiss,” Daphne argued.  
“Then… maybe it’s more.”  
Daphne sighed heavily and pushed back the hair that had drifted into her face. “I will ruin you, Hiddleston.”  
“Maybe I want you to.”  
He kept grinning. Why was he grinning? “You’re drunk. We’re gonna leave it at that.”  
“Daph…”  
“Let’s just go back inside. Pretend that didn’t happen.”  
“Daphne, come on…”  
“No. Tom. We’re not doing this… we can’t.” Without another word she disappeared back into the party and he stood in the cold. He felt it. She had to have too. He wasn’t crazy. He wasn’t.


	5. Chapter 5

“She’s avoiding me. I know it.”   
Luke rolled his eyes. “I thought you said she was sick.”   
“That’s what she told me!” Tom exclaimed. “But it’s been like a week!”   
“Maybe she is genuinely, truly, really sick,” Luke stated. He paused and chuckled a bit. “You really need to calm down.”   
“No. No. She’s avoiding me. I went and made everything completely awkward and now… she wants nothing to do with me.”   
Luke sighed. “And how would you have done that?”   
Tom took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “I, um… I may have crossed a bit of a line on New Year’s…”   
“How?”   
“I kissed her.”   
Luke choked on the water he had just attempted to swallow. “You what now? I thought you were just friends.”   
“We were! We are!” Tom cried. “I just… the drinks were flowing and we were dancing and… I got carried away.”   
“I told you this was going to happen. I knew it. I could tell from the way you talked about her that you were gonna nosedive.”   
“That’s not… that’s not accurate. I’m not saying I want to date the girl.”   
“Thomas! You are sitting here, freaking out because she hasn’t hung out with you in seven days! How many more signs do you need!?”   
“I don’t want to lose her as a friend.”   
“You’re an idiot. I never thought so before but… you are a goddamned idiot.”   
“Thank you. I feel so much better,” Tom stated sarcastically. “You always know exactly what to say.”   
Luke felt a bit bad and sighed. “If you’re so worried, why don’t you go over there and talk to her. She can’t avoid you if you’re right in front of her face.”   
“That’s a great idea.”   
“I’m not sure that it is, but it’s what you wanted to hear, so…”   
“I promise you, it’s not what you think,” Tom insisted.   
Luke shook his head. “I think it’s not what you think, but you obviously know best.”   
“Everything’s fine. I swear.”   
“Sure, Tom. Sure.” 

He took a deep breath as he approached her door. He was nervous, incredibly nervous. What if she didn’t answer? Or she did and sent him away? What if someone else was there? What if… Tom took another breath and knocked. There was only one way to answer all the what ifs, and this was it.  
It took a few beats before he heard any movement whatsoever, which only made him more worried, but once the door opened, all his irrational fears ceased and were replaced by concern.   
Daphne opened the door, her entire body shrouded in a thick blanket. She was pale, not her usual porcelain pale, but sick pale. White as a ghost, except her nose that was bright red from sniffling and an overuse of tissues.   
“What are you doing here?” she croaked out softly, her voice low and horse. “Do you want to die of the plague?”   
“I wanted to check on you,” Tom stated, gazing at her with adoring, concerned eyes. “Are you alright?”   
“I’m dying,” Daphne answered simply. “I told you I was sick.”   
“I know, I just wanted…” He watched as Daphne’s hands rose to cover her mouth. “What? What’s wrong?”   
Daphne shook her head before she went running off, tossing her blanket to the floor as she darted to the bathroom.   
Tom sighed, partially relieved and a bit sad. She looked awful. He walked into the condo, spotting piles of tissues and Gatorade bottles and basically nothing else. She needed a nurse, and he was determined to fill that role.   
A few minutes later, Daphne re-emerged. “You should really go,” she sniffed.   
“Not a chance,” Tom argued. “Have you been to see a doctor?”   
“No. I don’t have a doctor here,” she stated, throwing herself back on the sofa and immediately hiding under a blue comforter.   
“You need to,” Tom insisted, heading toward her. “It’s not normal to be this sick for a week.”   
“I don’t wanna go anywhere.”   
“Oh, darling,” Tom sighed. He carefully sat himself down on the edge of the couch and placed the palm of his hand against her forehead. “Love, you’re burning up.”   
“Funny, because I can’t stop shaking,” Daphne stated as her teeth chattered.   
“I’m calling someone.”   
“Tom…”   
“My doctor does house calls. He’ll come here,” Tom stated, rising and digging for the phone in his pocket.   
Daphne didn’t have enough strength to argue. She barely had enough strength to listen to his conversation. She barely had enough strength to keep her eyes open.   
“He’ll be here in an hour, darling,” Tom stated. “What do you need?”   
Daphne slowly waved her head back and forth. “Nothing…”   
He pouted his lips as he watched her drift into sleep. He felt like a complete and total tit right now. He owed it to her to be there, even if she didn’t know why.

 

Tom paced the living room floor as his doctor, Davis, the middle aged man was called, looked over the girl now nestled in her bed. He, of course, thought the worst as he put foot in front of foot, over and over again as if he was about to receive the worst news on the planet. He jumped upon hearing the door open and practically ran down the hall. “How is she?”   
“She’s resting now,” Doctor Davis answered. “She has pneumonia. She’s probably lucky you called when you did.”   
“How does she just get pneumonia? How does that happen?”   
“My guess? There’s a mean chain of influenza going around at the moment. She probably got that and since she… didn’t particularly take care of it, it morphed into this. She’s going to be on bedrest for at least a week and that’s minimum.”  
Tom chuckled. “She’s going to hate that.”   
“Yes, she already attempted to fight me on it, but it only lasted a few minutes,” Doctor Davis smile. “I called in a few prescriptions to the pharmacy around the block. I recommend going to get them as soon as possible and starting her on them. You’ll also want to pick up some Pedialyte or something similar as she’s pretty dehydrated.”   
“Yes, of course, I’ll go right away.”   
“If she gets worse, she’ll need to go to the emergency room. I’ve given her a sedative just to help her rest so she’ll be out for a good few hours. You may want to get the blankets and things from out here into the wash, just get rid of anything that may be infected, I suppose.”   
Tom looked around. “Pretty much everything.”   
“Yes, well, don’t clear out her house. I doubt she’d be very happy with that.”   
“She’s probably not very happy that I called you in the first place.”   
“Well, it’s a good thing you did,” the doctor looked at his watch. “I need to get off to my next appointment. Get down to the pharmacy, yeah? When she wakes up give her one of each and send her back to bed. Call me in a couple days."   
“I will,” Tom said with a nod as he shook the man’s hand. “Thank you. So much. I really appreciate you coming out here.”   
“Well, you’re on the short list of people I’d do house calls for,” Doctor Davis smiled. “It’s nice to see you.”   
“You too,” Tom stated as he followed the man to the door. “Thank you, again.”   
“You’re very welcome. Take care of her. She needs it.”   
“I will, without a doubt.” He gave the doctor a smile and a wave and shut the door. Now he just had to find her keys…

It was nearly six that evening when Daphne emerged from her medically induced coma. She shuffled out of her bedroom, the quilt from her bed wrapped around her shoulders, to find Tom reclined on the sofa, a book in his hand.   
“Hey,” he said softly, flipping a page before laying the novel face down on the coffee table. “Feeling any better?”   
“Not really. What’re you still doing here?” she asked as she sank into the opposite end of the large sectional.   
“The doctor wanted me to stay and make sure you got your medicine,” Tom stated as he headed into the kitchen where the goodies from the pharmacy sat on the table. “You hungry?”   
“Not at all.”   
“Thirsty?”   
“Not really,” Daphne answered. She turned her head and looked at the man doling out pills from various bottles. “Why… why are you doing this?”   
“Doing what, darling?”   
“Taking care of me. You don’t have to be here.”   
“Someone has to. Lord knows what I’d have found if I’d given it a few more days.”   
“I’m not dying, Tom,” Daphne said with a small chuckle.   
“Yes, well, you can thank me later for that.” Tom arrived back in front of her, three pills in his and the prescribed Pedialyte in a glass. “Here.”   
Daphne rolled her eyes but obliged, making a weird face after she swallowed. “What the hell is that?”   
“Something they give children when they’re dehydrated. Which you desperately are,” he answered as he sat back down.   
“It tastes like you just rinsed Koolaid out of a glass and pawned it off as a beverage.”   
Tom laughed brightly. “Sounds like someone’s getting back to themselves a bit.”   
“It was gross,” Daphne sighed. She sat the glass on the table before leaning over, lifting Tom’s arm so she could curl onto his chest. “So what’s the real reason you came over?”   
“I told you…”   
“You told me you came to check on me, but that’s not what your face said when I opened the door.”   
Tom scoffed, an embarrassed grin creeping across his face. “You caught me.”   
“Mhmm.”   
He sighed heavily as he played with the messy brown locks atop her head. “I, um… I was afraid I had perhaps made things awkward the other night. I thought you were maybe avoiding me.”   
Daphne lifted her eyes to look into his. “I told you I was sick, Tom. I may be a lot of things, but a liar isn’t one of them.”   
“I know, I just… I let my insecurities get the best of me, I suppose.”   
“You have nothing to be insecure about,” Daphne stated, settling back into her Tom pillow as he kicked his feet onto the coffee table in front of them. “If I was going to stop talking to you, I would just stop. Not send excuses. I’d just disappear.”   
“Yes, well, if you could not do that, that would be great.”   
“I have no intention of doing so.”   
“Good.”   
It was Daphne’s turn to sigh. “And I’d be lying if I didn’t say that… I’d thought about it… that night.”   
He was glad she couldn’t see the grin that had just erupted. “Really?”   
“Yeah, I just…” She paused. “I’m not going to say the attraction isn’t there. A blind man could see that, I just… it’s not worth it. It’s not worth ruining this over.”   
“Why must you assume it would ruin anything?”   
“Because it will. It does. It always does.”   
“I think you’re delirious.”   
“Not when it comes to this. I adore you, Tom,” she said softly, as he felt her fingers tracing over the maroon sweater covering his abdomen. “But… I’m leaving. In a matter of weeks or maybe months, I’ll be off on the next assignment and you… you don’t deserve the pain that causes.”   
“People make relationships work all the time, Daph. It’s not impossible.”   
“Not people like me.”   
He exhaled a deep breath through his nose, knowing he wasn’t ever going to win this debate and now certainly wasn’t the time to even try to. “Why don’t you worry about getting better, then perhaps… we’ll finish this conversation.”   
“I still don’t know why you’d even bother coming over here. You should’ve run by now.”   
“I’m not running anywhere. I happen to be quite fond of you,” he stated before pressing his lips into the top of her head.   
“I’m fond of you too.”   
"Then that's all that matters."


	6. Chapter 6

It was ten days before Daphne was given the go ahead to return to work, and Tom stayed by her side for nearly all of it. He’d run out for meetings or appointments. He left to bring over Bobby and some clothes, but other than that he was there, at her beck and call, though she refused to take advantage of it. They watched a lot of movies, played some games, spent afternoons on the couch, Daphne snuggled up in Tom’s arms as he read to her from his favorite books. Despite being sick, it was a nice break from the crazy schedules of both of their lives. However, once she was given the all-clear, Daphne went right back to work. The hotel was close to opening, and both parties knew that the minute it did, Daphne’s time in London would come to an end, so they were determined to make the most of the days they had left.   
“What’re we doing? Just give me a hint,” Tom pleaded as he readied himself for the evening. It was February ninth, a normal Friday night in London, except it was Tom’s thirty-seventh birthday, and Daphne was having to coax him out the door.   
“You’re really not good at surprises, are you?” she asked with a chuckle as she touched up her lipstick in the mirror of Tom’s bathroom.  
Tom sighed from his bedroom just across the hall. “It’s not that I mind surprises, I just…”   
“You don’t trust me?” Daphne asked as she appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame.   
“I can tell when you’re up to no good,” Tom responded with a grin. “This is one of those times.”   
“That is incredibly offensive,” Daphne stated, folding her arms across her chest. “I go to all this trouble for you and… you don’t even trust me. You’re not even excited.”   
“That’s not true,” Tom argued, fastening the silver watch around his wrist. He walked toward the girl and put a hand on the back of her head, bringing her forehead to his lips. “I’m excited. I promise.”   
“You should be,” Daisy beamed. “I’m the best at surprises.”   
“That’s… terrifying…”   
“You’re such a baby. Let’s go.”   
Tom whined as he took his jacket from the back of his bedroom door. “Just… don’t get me into too much trouble, alright? I’ve got a meeting tomorrow.”   
“You may want to cancel that.”   
“Oh god…” 

And a surprise it was indeed. Daphne and Tom arrived at one of the girl’s favorite places, Old Vic’s. It was a drag bar, in the heart of London that she’d drug Tom to many times before, but tonight was different. Tonight when Tom Hiddleston walked in, he knew every single person in the room. Friends, family, all gathered together by the girl at Tom’s side, and all ready to celebrate the man’s birthday. Regular business had been shut down. Tonight the entire bar was theirs. Dinner had been catered in and placed at the back of the room near the open bar. There were lights and decorations as far as the eye could see and a table of presents in the corner piled as tall as the man’s head. He was stunned.   
After hellos and hugs to everyone in the room, he finally had a chance to turn to the girl as they waited for their drinks to arrive. “You did all of this for me?” he asked with a dreamy grin.   
“I didn’t do anything,” Daphne argued. “You’re a pretty popular, guy, Tom Hiddleston. Everybody wants to celebrate you.”   
Tom chuckled and shook his head. “You constantly undersell yourself.”   
“I just made a few phone calls.”   
Tom just stared at her a moment. Her eyes were sparkling in the flashing club lights. Her lips, tonight painted a hot pink, were curled into an almost shy smile which caused the same from the man himself. “Thank you,” he said softly. “This… is incredible. And… humbling.”   
Daphne’s small smile turned into a full-on grin. “You’re welcome. I don’t know anyone that deserves it more.” To Tom’s delight, she leaned toward him, brushing those Barbie pink lips onto his cheek. “Happy birthday, handsome.”   
Tom just smiled, pressing his forehead into the girl’s, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. No matter what happened the rest of the evening, he was pretty content already. 

Within the next hour, a full-on drag show, just for him, began on the stage at the back of the club. One of the queens, who went by the name Miss Diagnosed, was actually a co-worker of Daphne’s whose real name was Stephen. Stephen was a ball of fun. He’d hung out with duo numerous times, and was the reason Daphne started frequenting the club at all. It didn’t take Tom long to figure out that Stephen had been Daphne’s main co-conspirator.   
The guest of honor had been seated front and center, Daphne at one side and his younger sister and her husband at the other, drinks before them and all eyes on the stage.   
The performances all had a definite theme and that theme was cheesy pop songs full of admiration of a handsome male character. Tonight, the male character in every song was Hiddleston himself. Tom couldn’t help but laugh heartily as the drag queens in their pop princess costumes fawned all over him, sat on his lap, left lipstick prints on his cheeks. Daphne, beside him, was a ball of giggles the entire time as he blushed and giggled from all of the attention. But as the lights dimmed for the final performance, Tom became a bit concerned, and Daphne could see it. She reached under the table and took his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. But she didn’t let go. Instead, she wove their fingers together, gave him a comforting smile and turned her eyes back to the stage.   
Tom, a bit calmer now, did the same. As the lights came up and “Look What You Made Me Do” came rattling over the club’s sound system, Stephen, or right now Miss Diagnosed, appeared in full on Taylor Swift garb. It didn’t take long for Tom’s laughter to return, as the (sort of) look-alike of his ex danced and lip synched every word. Mid-song, a group of backup dancers appeared, and just as they had in the real starlet’s video, they had on an infamous tank top that Tom had been spotting wearing once upon a time. But this one had a bit of an edit. Instead of I <3 TS, the tank tops read I <3 TH and Tom lost it. He slumped down in his chair and buried his face in his hands as he laughed with his entire body. Miss Diagnosed sauntered toward him, taking a perch on his lap and Tom could only imagine the photos his friends and family were currently getting.   
As the song ended, the bleach blonde wigged queen pressed her crimson red lips into his forehead, leaving a big red print behind. “Happy birthday, Hiddles!”   
“Thank you,” Tom said, still combatting his giggles.   
“We’ve got one more song for you…”   
“Oh god.”   
“But I’m going to need a little help with this one,” Miss Diagnosed stated. “Miss Daphne?”   
“Moi?” Daphne asked, obviously faking her innocence as she rose to her high heeled feet. “I couldn’t!”   
“Everybody, get this tart up onstage! Come on!”   
The crowd roared with applause and shouts of encouragement as Daphne pretended to need them and head slowly to the stage. Tom’s eyes were wide with both surprise and curiosity as his apparent date for the evening took a stance in the middle of the stage, soon joined by her friend at her side and an entirely new act began.   
“Daph, I don’t think you’re dressed appropriately for this stage.”   
“This ain’t that kind of club, honey,” Daphne stated into the microphone that had just arrived before her.   
“Give it a few hours.”   
As the crowd laughed, Daphne looked around off the wings of the stage. “Ooh, give me one second…”   
“What the hell am I supposed to do?” Miss Diagnosed asked as Daphne jogged offstage. “You guys wanna hear a joke?”   
Tom’s brain was running wild with ideas of what was coming, but he didn’t have long to think of an answer, as Daphne reappeared in a sparkling silver dress, short and sequined, clinging tightly to her body. She had obviously been wearing it the entire time under the other dress she had worn into the party. Tom had done a great many quick changes in his career and even the best crew couldn’t have changed her that fast.   
“Better?” she asked, awkwardly tugging at the hem of the skirt that hit the middle of her thigh.   
“Much.” Miss Diagnosed turned her attention back to the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, doesn’t she look… Gorgeous?”   
Before the crowd could answer, a song of that exact name hit the speakers. Tom knew it because it was also from his ex’s album, and though it was said to have been written about the girl’s current partner, it could’ve easily had been about the birthday boy himself. And on this night, it was.  
Tom was a bit stunned as he heard Daphne herself begin singing the words. In the past four months, or however long they’d known each other now, he had never heard her sing, and she wasn’t half bad. In fact, she was doing well enough, Tom had completely forgotten the possibility of having a negative emotional reaction to the song. Now it was between him and her, and it was perfect.   
For a while, Daphne’s performance stayed on stage, but just as all the numbers before hers, eventually she wound up next to Tom. First just, pacing around him, singing into his ear, then perched on his lap singing to his smiling face.   
“I guess I’ll just stumble on home to my cats… alone… unless you wanna come along.”   
As she finished the line she pressed a quick kiss against his cheek before darting back onstage to finish her song. Tom couldn’t wipe the smile from his face and he didn’t want to. He’d never been more certain that all the attention he had paid this woman was definitely not in vain. 

The longer the night went on, the more the drinks flowed and the louder the crowd got. A few people had left, but most of them stayed, singing and dancing along to one of the greatest playlists Tom had ever heard. Daphne had changed back into her normal dress and rejoined the man’s side, only leaving for a quick run to the restroom now and again. At some points he held her hand, or they danced, or he simply had their arms around each other, but there wasn’t a doubt in anyone’s head that there was an attraction, and it was very much mutual.   
“There she is!” Tom exclaimed drunkenly as his dragged up friend approached the circle he stood in.   
“There he is!” the queen retorted. “Happy birthday handsome!”   
Tom grinned as a kiss was pressed into his cheek. “Thank you. Thank you. It’s been… pretty incredible.”   
“Well, you can thank that little gorgeous ball of...sass next to you.”   
Tom turned his gaze upon Daphne. “Yeah, she’s pretty okay.”   
“Lock that down, boy! Don’t let that one get away!”   
“I’m trying!” Tom cried, the booze bringing out every ounce of honesty in his body. “She’s the one fighting it!”   
“Daphne!” she scolded.   
“I don’t think this is a prime time for this conversation,” Daphne stated with an embarrassed chuckle as she tucked her hair behind her ears.   
“Of course, it is! It’s the boy’s birthday! You owe him a present.” As Miss Diagnosed finished her sentence she began wiggling her drawn on eyebrows.   
“Oh my god,” Daphne mumbled, covering her eyes with the palm of her hand. “Stop.”   
“He’s into it. I see the way he looks at you. We all see the way he looks at you.”   
“Shut up, Stephen!” Daphne commanded. She looked at a grinning Tom. “What? What are you smiling about?”   
“That’s… not wrong,” Tom stated, his shoulders raising to his ears.   
Daphne pursed her lips and playfully slapped Tom’s chest. “Shut up.”   
“I’m just…”   
“I know what you’re just!” Daphne exclaimed. “You’re not cute!”   
“Well that’s a lie,” Tom said out the corner of his mouth.   
“Alright. You’re done. No more gin for you.”   
“I’ll switch to whisky then.”   
“Nope.”   
“Oooh! Let’s do tequila!” Stephen exclaimed. “Like the song says, tequila makes her clothes fall off.”   
Tom looked at Daphne with wide eyes. “Definitely tequila.”   
“I hate you. I hate both of you.”   
“How many shots do you think it will take?” Tom asked as he and Stephen squared up to the bar.   
“Three. Max.”   
“Fuck you both.” 

The cab ride back to Daphne’s was rather steamy. Lots of cuddling and drunken whispers. Despite the fact that he wanted to, he stopped himself from kissing her in the back of the black taxi. Even drunk Tom knew the last thing he needed was a cabbie spilling his dirty little secrets to a tabloid.   
However, the second they got in the elevator to go to her top floor condominium, all caution was in the wind. Tom quickly pressed himself into her, pinning the girl’s frame against the elevator wall. One hand was clutching onto the railing as the other brushed her brown locks from her eyes before settling against the curve of the back of her head. His forehead brushed hers. He could feel her breathing. He could feel her heart racing against his own, and without another second of thought, he pressed his lips into hers.   
Daphne didn’t even attempt to object. The kiss was innocent at first, but the longer the elevator rose, the deeper the kiss got. Tongues waging war against each other, hands roaming wildly. Their hearts were now racing for completely different reasons.   
The duo giggled as the elevator binged to a halt. They joined hands and raced toward her apartment door, Tom barely even allowing her to unlock it before pressing himself into her once again.   
The second the door was open, the kissing resumed. This time their hands were used to rip off coats or pluck shoes from feet, their lips only parting to remove random articles of clothing. Before long, all that was left between them was thin layers of cotton and lace.   
Tom took Daphne in his arms, walking her back toward an end table that sat along the wall. He pushed a few objects out of the way, before gently lifting her onto it.  
Daphne gasped as Tom’s lips caressed her neck, her hands weaving through his curls as if to hold him in place. But even through the heat and excitement of the given moment, she couldn’t get her negative thoughts to stop.   
“Stop,” she said, gasping for air as she pushed him back. “Tom. Tom, stop.”   
Tom groaned a bit, but gave in to her pleas. “What? What’s wrong?” he asked, his own breathing staggered. He sniffed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. “What’s the matter?”   
“This is a bad idea,” Daphne said, her eyes looking a bit sad as she shook her head.   
Tom rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I don’t care anymore,” he stated before attempting to kiss the beauty once again.   
But Daphne stopped him. “No. No. This is a really terrible idea. You know that.”   
“Why?” Tom asked. “Why? What’s so wrong? We’re two… consenting adults… who are… obviously attracted to each other… I don’t see the issue.”   
“Because once we cross this line, it’s crossed. There is no going back.”   
“I think it’s pretty crossed already, don’t you?” Tom asked with a grin. Daphne just smiled and shook her head, her eyes diverting to the carpet. Or maybe the red polish on her toes. Whatever it was, she was definitely not looking at him. “Babe,” he began softly. “Baby, look at me.” Daphne did as he asked, though the by the look on her face, he knew it was unwillingly. “I like you. And you can’t deny that you feel the same. I may be oblivious to a lot of things, but I know what I feel.”   
“I’m not… this isn’t about that…”   
“Then what, huh?” Tom asked, dipping his head to look into her eyes. “If you really want me to leave, I will. But… your eyes are saying a very different thing than your mouth is. Hell, your mouth isn’t even doing a very good job of it either.”   
Daphne laughed and pushed at his bare chest. “That’s not fair.”   
“Do you want me to go?”   
“No… yes…. I don’t know!” Daphne cried. She buried her face in her hands. “Fuck! Why do you have to be so fucking perfect!?”  
Tom laughed and took her wrists to pull her hands from her eyes. “Do you have feelings for me?”   
“It doesn’t matter.”   
“It does to me.”   
Daphne took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, her eyes clouding with tears. “You know that I do, but…”   
“But nothing,” Tom said softly. “There’s no buts. That is literally all I need to know right now. I don’t… I don’t care about the future. I don’t want to think about you leaving or what this could or couldn’t be somewhere down the road. All I care about is right here and right now.”   
“I don’t want you to regret this…”  
“There is not a chance in hell of that happening,” Tom assured. “You could get on a plane tomorrow and never return and I still won’t regret anything about this.”   
“You’re an idiot.”   
Tom burst into laughter. “Thank you. Thanks,” he said as he composed himself. He inhaled deeply. “I’m going to ask you one more time: do you want me to leave?”  
Slowly but surely, Daphne’s head began to wave back and forth. “No.”   
“Then just shut up and kiss me already.”   
Daphne laughed as his face neared hers once again. “I hate you so much,” she grinned.   
“Mhmm. Sure, you do.”   
“I do,” Daphne nodded, pulling back her face just to tease him.   
“Fine. Kiss me anyway,” Tom commanded. She finally stopped pulling away and he thrust his lips upon hers once again. This time, there was no more stopping. No more questioning. No more of anything except each other.


	7. Chapter 7

It was the sun shining through the windows the next morning that finally awoke Tom. He groaned and stretched as the smell of a fresh pot of coffee met his nostrils. Once he opened his eyes, it took him a few seconds to remember where he was. However, the second he did, a huge smile stretched across his face. He’d been worried the previous evening was a dream, but judging by the fact he was currently laying in her bed, undressed, one leg dangling to the hardwood floor, it had definitely not been.  
He turned to his side to find himself alone, but he could hear her, singing and humming somewhere down the hallway. As he sat up, he found his clothes sitting in a neatly folded pile at the end of the bed and he chuckled. She would wake up early to cleanup from the night before.   
He got dressed and stretched as he headed toward the kitchen, trying to make the smile on his face look too excited. He had to keep some of his cool, or at least pretend to. As he got closer to the kitchen, he realized there was not only coffee wafting through the air, but the smell and sounds of a full English breakfast sizzling on the stove top.   
“Morning.”   
Daphne jumped from her place at the stove. Her back was turned, and she hadn’t seen the man coming. He was quite stealthy. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled almost shyly. “Good morning,” she responded before turning back to the task at hand. “How’d you sleep?”   
“Really, really well,” Tom answered. “Almost too well.”   
“You did crash pretty hard.”   
“What can I say? I was worn out.” Tom rolled his lips over his teeth as he stared at the girl before him. He bit down softly as the sight of her brought all the events of their early morning hours back to the forefront of his mind. Her tiny shorts, even the enormous sweatshirt. The thoughts in his head were not PG and they were not sweet. They were animalistic and they were hot and they were passionate… and they were the only thing he could focus on.   
However, as his brain debated initiating another round, he heard a familiar but shrill tune in the air. “Is that my phone?” he asked, confused.   
“Oh yeah,” Daphne answered, giving the spatula in her hand a wave as the alarm continued to chime. “I found it on the floor and plugged it in this morning. By the sofa.”   
“You really are a goddess,” Tom stated with a sigh as he headed toward the song in the living room.   
Daphne chuckled. “I plugged in a phone. Take it easy.”   
“It died before the party even ended. Completely didn’t even think about it,” Tom stated with a sigh as he picked up his iPhone. He had missed a lot according to the phone screen. Various texts and calls wishing him a happy birthday from people who hadn’t been able to attend the previous evening’s festivities. A string of pictures and videos from his sister but the latest message, the newest one, sent him into a fit. “Fuck!”   
Daphne jumped at his outburst and spun around. “What? What’s wrong?”   
“I was supposed to be at an interview like twenty minutes ago. Fuck!” Tom exclaimed again as he began to scramble. “Luke’s gonna kill me!”   
“I’m sure he’ll understand,” the girl said as she clicked off the stove and headed to the living room.   
“I have to go. Shit.” Tom’s eyes fluttered around, looking for all of the belongings he had yet to collect.   
Daphne sighed and looked back into the kitchen and all of the food she’d just spent the morning making. “It’s alright. I wasn’t going to share anyway.”   
Tom stopped, a sigh of disappointment lifting his shoulders into the air. He swallowed and gave the girl an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry.”   
“No, it’s fine. You have to go. I completely understand.”   
Tom instantly went back into panic mode. “Where the fuck of my shoes?”   
Daphne looked around the room and giggled. “Under the table.”   
Tom laughed and got down on his hands and knees, collecting the grey dress shoes from their chair leg prison. “I’m sorry, truly. I completely forgot about this thing.”   
“It’s fine, Tom, seriously,” Daphne assured as the man rushed to put his shoes back on his feet. “It’s your job. You’ve gotta go.”   
He shoved is wallet back into his pocket and then pulled his jacket onto his long arms. “I will call you later. I swear.”   
“You better.”   
Tom smiled sweetly. “I will.” He paused and scratched the back of his head almost shyly. “Last night… last night was incredible…in every sense of the word.”   
Daphne blushed. “Yeah. Yeah, it was.”   
“I promise I won’t bolt out the door immediately after the next time.”   
“You think there’s gonna be a next time?”   
“I’m hoping so,” Tom stated. He watched as Daphne’s blush only deepened. “Okay. Okay, I gotta run.”   
“Have a good day.”   
“You too.” Tom quickly headed toward the door but just as he was about to put his hand on the doorknob, he turned back around, moving swiftly to the girl behind him, arms folded across her chest. He placed his hands on her cheeks and he kissed her. He kissed her firmly and passionately. The grumblings of hunger were quickly replaced by heavy heartbeats and butterflies. He pulled back and smiled, still cradling her face. “I’ll talk to you later. Like… tonight, in a few hours…”   
“Deal,” Daphne laughed.   
“I’ll make this up to you. I promise.”   
“There’s nothing to make up for. Go. Before Luke starts to hate me more than he already does.”   
“He doesn’t hate you.”   
“I don’t think he’s particularly fond of me.”   
“He doesn’t know you. We’ll fix that,” Tom stated softly. “I’ll see you later.”   
“Bye.”   
“Bye, baby.” Tom headed back toward the door, this time actually getting it open before he stopped again. “You’re perfect.”   
“Shut up and go, you dork.”   
“I’m going… very… hesitantly.”   
“Go!”   
“Okay, bye.”   
Daphne laughed as the man finally disappeared, her head waving left to right. He was so happy. He was so into it; into her, into them, into everything. Yet there she stood, not regretting their tryst, but not entirely sure it should continue. She sighed. She was going to spend far too much of the day thinking. 

“You are never late.”   
“Luke, I’m sorry,” Tom apologized into his phone. He’d gotten the interview finished after spending the first thirty minutes of it apologizing profusely. The journalist was completely understanding and smitten by the man’s charm, but Luke on the other hand, was quite disappointed.   
“Safe to say the birthday party went well then.”   
Tom smirked. “It was great.”   
“A little too great, perhaps?”   
Tom rolled his eyes. “Luke, I said I was sorry. She was fine with it. It was a mistake and it won’t happen again, alright? My phone died and… I forgot to charge it.”   
“You forgot?”   
“Yes. It happens.”   
“It wouldn’t be because you were with her, would it?”   
“It’s not her fault.”   
Luke’s sigh practically caused the phone to vibrate in his ear. “I’m not gonna lie, Tom. I’m a little worried about… all of this.”   
“Why?” Tom asked cluelessly. “I’m not.”   
“You’ve turned down two projects since you met this girl.”   
“I wasn’t interested. It doesn’t have anything to do with her. I just… I want my next project to be something I’m passionate about. There’s nothing wrong with that.”   
“So, it has nothing to do with you wanting to be here? With her?”   
“Well sure, I want to be here. I’ve spent the last how many years bouncing from project to project. It’s kind of nice to feel like I have a real life. It’s not entirely to do with Daphne.”   
“Are you sure?”   
“Luke, I understand where you’re coming from, okay? I do. I just… you’re taking all of this a bit too seriously.”   
“You’re sleeping with her now, aren’t you?”   
Tom scoffed dismissively. “What does that have to do with anything?”   
“Look, I get it. She’s… beautiful and she’s fun but… I kind of feel like you’re getting lost in it again. This isn’t you. All the clubs, all the parties, being late to meetings, not interested in working…”   
“You are insanely overreacting here.”   
“Am I? This is all starting to feel all too familiar.”   
“What are you talking about?” Tom snapped.   
“You know exactly what I’m talking about and I really don’t want to watch you get your heart broken again. No one does.”   
Tom sighed. “I’m not going to, okay? We’re just… having fun.”   
“Tom, I know you. You’re not the type of guy who runs around just having fun. That’s not how you operate.”   
“Well maybe it’s what I need right now.”   
“I know you have feelings for her.”   
“I’m not saying I don’t. I’m just saying I am perfectly aware of the situation and the outcome, okay? I know this isn’t forever. But for right now, it feels… pretty perfect.”   
Luke sighed, still not buying his friend’s story. “Just promise me you’ll keep your feet on the ground.”   
“They are, Luke. They are.”   
“Alright, well… I guess as long as you’re enjoying yourself then.”   
Tom snickered a bit. “I… I am definitely enjoying myself. Don’t you worry about that.”   
“I don’t even want to know.”   
“Good, because I’m not telling you,” Tom stated. He stopped as he passed a store front, a tv playing a snip of cameras as they followed his ex through what was obviously Heathrow airport. “Oh great.”  
“What?”  
“She’s in town.”   
“She has a house here, Tom. Plus I think she’s got some shows here this weekend.”   
“Yeah… yeah she does. She, um… she asked if I wanted to meet up. Or come to the show or… I don’t know.”   
“What’d you say?”   
“Nothing yet. I got it in the insanity that arrived when my phone turned back on this morning. Didn’t really know what to say.”   
“I mean, it might not be a bad idea. Burying the hatchet so to speak.”   
Tom shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”   
“Well, if you wanna talk about it, I’m here.”   
“Thank you,” Tom responded with a small smile. He knew he was. He knew Luke would give him advice and be a listening ear whenever he was needed. But who he really wanted to talk to, might not be all that thrilled with the situation.


	8. Chapter 8

She was trying to convince herself she didn’t care but it was going quite poorly. Sure, everything she’d said was true but deep down, somewhere in the feelings she’d been attempting to keep caged, she was kind of upset that he was even debating the idea. Daphne tried to tell herself she didn’t know why she was upset, but she did. And it was making her rather uncomfortable.   
She was completely unfocused that day at work. He’d texted his usual ‘Good Morning’ sweetness but he’d been fairly quiet the rest of the day. Too quiet. Worrisome quiet. He never mentioned if he’d made a decision or what was going on and Daphne wasn’t a fan of being left in the dark. Not at all.   
But scrolling through her social media later that afternoon while on a smoke break, she got her answer. Tabloid photos of Tom Hiddleston and his blonde pop star ex were all over her feed. They were laughing at jokes at an outside bistro. They were walking down the street smiling and giggling. There was even one of a hug and with it, Daphne’s blood started boiling. He could’ve at the very least warned her. At the VERY least.   
And he’d meant to. Truth be told, the decision to go to lunch happened about four minutes before he’d headed out the door. He’d tossed and turned all night thinking about it and himmed and hawed through an audition that morning before finally deciding to go through with it. He wasn’t sure why he had, but he went.   
It was pleasant enough, that wasn’t the issue. He just wasn’t into it. Despite how the photos looked, it had honestly been a fairly quiet encounter. They’d talked and reminisced. She had actually apologized, but… he didn’t care. He didn’t need her to any more and it was in that moment that Tom had never been more certain that he was completely over her.   
However, as they left the café, another concern rushed to his brain when he spotted photographers across the street. He hadn’t meant to keep their meeting a secret from his Daphne, it just happened. And if she’d found out through photos, he was certain he would be receiving one hell of a cold shoulder for at least a couple days. So, he attempted to call, but she was neck deep in work as per usual, so he left a message and went on with his day.   
It was only after he got out of rehearsal for his new starring stage role that he began to worry. It had been nearly five hours and she hadn’t so much as texted him. Sure, she was busy finalizing things, but she was never completely unresponsive. Never.   
He hopped on the train and headed to the hotel. He was almost positive she would still be there and after asking the security guard telling him the building was in fact not open, he knew he was right. The guard, recognizing the man, allowed him to stay, so he took a seat on a sofa in the lobby and waited, perhaps a bit impatiently.   
Daphne spotted him the second she walked out of the back office with Bryan and his father, owner of Cleary Hotel Group, Joe Cleary. Her eyes widened with surprise as the men chuckled behind her.  
“What’re you doing here?” she practically hissed under her breath.  
“I was in the neighborhood…”  
“You’re lying. The theatre is nowhere near here, Thomas.”   
“Tom!”  
“Mr. Cleary!” Tom exclaimed as the man in his early sixties walked toward him, hand immediately extended for a shake. “It’s good to see you again.”  
They’d met at the New Year’s Eve party. Despite Tom’s distaste for the young Cleary, Joe seemed incredibly nice. He was kind and jovial. A proper gentleman. Tom liked him.  
“It’s good to see you!” Joe responded. “Have you met my son Bryan?”  
“In passing,” Tom covered, extending his hand to the younger man. “Good to officially meet you.”   
“You too,” Bryan smiled uneasily. “Dad, I gotta get going.”   
“Of course, you do,” Joe said, his tone a bit annoyed. “Eight am tomorrow. Promptly.”   
“Yes, Sir,” Bryan sighed, not too keen on the idea of being scolded in front of the other two. “Daphne. Tom.” He issued them a nod before heading toward the giant glass door.   
Joe sighed in disappointment before turning back to Daphne and Tom and smiling like nothing was wrong. “Sorry to keep your girl from you here. We had some offers to work through.”  
“No trouble at all, sir,” Tom insisted. “I actually surprised her a bit. She had no idea I was coming so, no hold up.”  
“Well then, I will let you two lovebirds get on with your evening. Tom, I think you’ll be pretty excited about some of the prospects I presented to Daphne a bit ago. Just may need your assistance getting her to say yes,” Joe teased, giving Daphne a playful wink.  
“I will do my best.”   
“I know you will. You kids have a good night. Daphne, I’ll see you in the morning.”   
“Yes, sir. Have a good evening.”   
“Goodnight, Tom. Don’t be a stranger!” Joe exclaimed as he waved and headed back toward his office.   
Tom chuckled and then turned back to Daphne, who still seemed less than enthused with his presence. “I didn’t mean to ambush you…”  
“It’s fine,” Daphne stated, though it quite obviously wasn’t. “I just… I really like keeping my personal life and my professional life separate so if you could not crash my job, like… ever again, that’d be great.”   
Tom watched a bit bewildered as Daphne slipped on her jacket and headed in a heated hurry toward the door.   
“Goodnight, Alvin,” she said to the guard.   
“Goodnight, Miss Grenier.”   
Tom realized he had frozen in place and quickly sprinted after the girl. “Are you really that upset with me? I promise I had no ill will. I was just concerned.”  
“I’m not upset,” Daphne retorted. “Its just been a long day and I’ve got a lot on my mind.”  
“You wanna grab dinner and talk about it?”  
“I kind of just want to go home,” Daphne stated. “Alone, to be honest.”   
Tom’s brows furrowed as the girl pulled ahead of him once again. “Hey,” he replied. “Heeey.” He pinched the elbow of her coat in an attempt to get her to stop. It worked. “What’s going on here? Is it Cleary?”  
“No.”  
“Is it me?”  
Daphne sighed and rolled her eyes. “I just…” She paused and looked into the sky. Through the lights of the city one could barely see the stars beginning to sparkle, but they were there. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going?”  
One could almost see the lightbulb go off over Tom Hiddleston’s head. “I… I… it was a last-minute decision,” he stated. “I didn’t even realize I was going until I had to run out the door. I tried to call after. I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you.”   
“I mean it’s fine. You can do whatever you want,” Daphne stated as she hung her head. “It’s not like we’re actually dating or anything, I just… I thought that, as a friend, you would at least let me know before Twitter did.”   
“I’m sorry,” Tom apologized. “You’re right. I should’ve said something.”   
“It’s fine.”  
“It’s not fine,” Tom argued, taking a step toward her and placing his hands on her shoulders. “If I hurt you, it’s not fine. That’s not something I want to do.”   
“I’m not hurt. I’m just… annoyed,” Daphne attempted to cover.  
“I don’t know. You look a bit hurt,” Tom teased, stretching his arm across her shoulders as they headed down the street once again. “Don’t be mad at me.”  
“Shut up.”  
Tom just chuckled, knowing she wasn’t mad. She was pouting. “Let’s get a drink and I’ll tell you about how miserable it was.”  
He watched as Daphne’s face practically lit up. “It was?”  
“It was AWFUL.”   
It wasn’t awful, per say, but for her? He would gladly say it was. It was the worst afternoon of his life as far as she was concerned. 

“So, you gonna tell me what exactly Cleary was talking about?” Tom asked, one arm folded under his head as he waited for the girl to crawl into bed beside him.   
Daphne shrugged with a ponytail holder in her mouth as she attempted to tie up her chocolate colored bob. “Nothing, really. We were just discussing what happens next. Hotel opens in two weeks. I’ll need something else to do.”   
“Do I get to know the options?” Daphne just stared at him. After a few moments, Tom chuckled. “Okay. I see where I stand. Jesus.”   
Daphne groaned as she climbed into the open side of the bed. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you...”   
“What is it then?”  
“I don’t want you to get your hopes up.” Tom eyed the girl oddly as she took a deep breath. “There’s…a few options. One, is to go back to Dallas and help choose the next location, theme, menu all that stuff. Or… I could go to Hong Kong and help revamp one that’s already there.” She paused, taking another breath, and exhaled slowly. “The other is a bit different. Joe wants to expand the Group’s specialties. As of right now, it’s only hotels and resorts. He… is interested in opening an actual restaurant. Full blown, five-star level cuisine… and he wants me to be at the helm.”   
Tom sat up straight. The look on his face was one of surprise, but he wasn’t. She was incredible at her craft and he knew it. “Babe, that’s amazing.”   
“It would be a LOT of work. And a really long process…”   
“I… can’t even imagine. I assume he wants to start back in the States?”  
Daphne gulped, her eyes glued onto the baby blues across from her. “Here.”   
Tom tried to fight the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Here? In London?”  
“Yes,” Daphne answered. She could see that the man was about to burst. “Don’t go getting all excited, okay? I don’t know what I’m gonna do yet.”   
“Oh yeah, cuz there’s absolutely nothing worth staying here for.”   
“I didn’t say that,” Daphne retorted. “But… it’s a big decision, and it would be a huge undertaking. Everything would be my responsibility and I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”   
“Darling, of course you are,” Tom insisted, taking the girl’s hand in his own. “He wouldn’t have asked you if he didn’t think you were more than capable.”   
“I know…” She swallowed a hard lump from the pit of her throat. “It also means that basically the only person I’ll be working closely with… is Bryan.”   
Tom grimaced, his face looking like he’d just swallowed and entire lemon. “Well, that’s enough to deter anyone.”   
Daphne giggled. “You see my point then.”   
“But… you’d get to stay here… with me…”  
Daphne pursed her lips and smiled sweetly, resting the palm of her hand against his scruffy cheek. “I know that. And trust me… it’s a pro toward the latter option but… I love my job. I love travelling and seeing the world. It’s a lot to think about.”   
“I get it,” Tom stated with a nod. “I don’t necessarily like it, but I do understand.” He took a breath before grinning mischievously. “Is… there anything I can do to help… maybe sway your decision?”  
“Thomas,” Daphne laughed as he continued leaning closer and closer.  
“What?” he asked with a smirk before his lips met the crook of her neck.  
Daphne closed her eyes tightly. He was exploiting her weakness and he knew it. “That’s so not fair.”   
“Is it so wrong that I want you to stay?” Tom questioned, temporarily pausing his assault.   
“Of course not. But… it’s not that easy of a decision for me to make. You knew what you were getting with me.”   
Suddenly, the mood in the room changed. Tom rolled his eyes as he flopped back on the bed. “Here we go again.”   
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Daphne asked with an offended laugh.   
“The you-know-this-isn’t-a-real-relationship talk,” Tom stated in a tone that was quite obviously meant to mock her own. “The one I get every two days or so.”   
“I’m sorry I’m trying to keep things honest. How fucking dare I,” Daphne snarled.   
“I’m just wondering if you’re trying to convince me or yourself. Because I get it. Trust me. You’ve made it crystal clear that there is absolutely no possible way you could legitimately care about me.”   
“That is NOT at all what I’ve ever said. Not once. I DO care about you, you know that," Daphne argued. “I’m trying to protect you here. I don’t want to hurt you.”   
“I don’t know if you know this, but I’m a grown man. Just celebrated my thirty seventh birthday as a matter of fact. I’m perfectly capable of protecting myself, thank you.”   
“Yeah. That’s why you spent a year grieving a three-month relationship with a fucking teenage dirt bag.”   
“Yeah, well, at least I’m not a borderline alcoholic who bounces from place to place so she doesn’t have to form any real relationships with anyone.”   
Daphne stared at him, her eyes wide with hurt and horror as they began to well with tears. “Wow, Tom. Wow. Fuck you.” She quickly tossed the comforter from her body and got back out of the bed she’d only recently crawled into. “I’m going home.”   
Instead of pleading with her to stay, which is what he wanted to do, Tom instead continued his current stream of sarcasm. “Of course, you are. Just run. That’s what you do, right? Things get a little rough and you take off. The Daphne way.”   
Daphne chuckled as she stepped back into her pants from the day. “I don’t have to stay and fight with you because guess what? You’re not my fucking boyfriend.”   
“Thank god for that.”   
Daphne shook her head and collected the rest of her things. “You’re a real fucking asshole sometimes, you know that?”   
“Takes one to know one.”   
“Mature, Tom. Real fucking mature. Have a great night.” Without another word, Daphne stormed out of the bedroom, slamming the thin door so hard it simply bounced back open instead of staying shut.   
Although his jaw was still tight with anger, Tom regretted every word that had just come out of his mouth. He grabbed the pillow that should’ve been under the girl’s head and covered his face with it, letting out a muffled scream that caused Bobby to run in, barking. “Shh… Shh… its okay, buddy,” Tom insisted, sliding himself half off the bed to retrieve the pup. He pulled him up and onto his chest. “Your dad’s just a fucking idiot.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Well, someone looks positively chipper this morning,” Luke stated as a grinning Tom approached their outdoor brunch table, leash in hand.   
Tom chuckled. “Yes, well, you see, I am an actor and therefore looks can be deceiving.”   
Luke grinned and rose, embracing his friend before they both settled into their seats. “How are you?”   
“I’m… alright,” Tom said after a brief moment of thought. “Could always be worse as they say, but could currently be… quite a bit better too.”   
“Still haven’t talked to her, have you?”  
Tom shook his head and took a sip of his water after looping Bobby’s leash around the arm of his chair. “It’s… positively ridiculous, but… we have never gone this long without speaking since the day we met.”   
“What’s it been? Two days?”   
“Three,” Tom answered. He scoffed at himself and shook his head. “It’s ludicrous isn’t it?”   
“No,” Luke quickly dismissed. “Have you tried?”   
“As in actually made contact? No,” Tom said, his head waving back and forth. “I’ve tried in the way that… I’ve typed roughly eight million messages and nearly called half as many times I just… I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to apologize for the… bullshit that spewed out of my mouth.”   
Luke sighed and shrugged. “I mean… I’m not saying that you didn’t cross… a few lines, but… I also think it was maybe a bit… warranted. She’s kind of been… stringing you along for awhile now.”   
“She’s not stringing me along. She’s been… more than vocal about what this is.”   
“Yes, but… you still like, go on dates and she’s still fucking you so… I can see where things might get a bit… blurry.”   
“They’re not blurry,” Tom stated, running his finger around the lip of his glass. He stopped and shook his head, laughing at his own stupidity. “Yeah, yeah they are a bit blurry.”   
“I know they are. I know you,” Luke said with a chuckle.   
Tom’s head continued to wave side to side. “I tried!” he exclaimed with a laugh. “I tried to do this… casual, fun sort of thing and not get my feelings involved… but they did. They are and… it’s insane because she’s probably leaving the country in a matter of days and I’ll likely never see her again and she probably fucking hates me now anyway…”   
“She doesn’t hate you.”   
“I’m fairly certain she does,” Tom argued. “And she has every right to.”   
Luke took a deep breath. “Okay… I know this is not what you want to hear right now, but I feel the need to say it anyway…”   
“I swear to god if you say I told you so…”   
“That wasn’t what I was going to say,” Luke said, looking to the table and a folder beside him.   
“Okay. What’s going on?” Tom asked, looking from his friend, to the folder and back to his friend.  
Luke took a deep breath. “There was… a story, this morning… in the Daily Mail.”   
“Oooh, because they’re always so reliable,” Tom said sarcastically.   
“I know that, I do. And that… that is why I did some investigating.”   
Tom’s eyebrows furrowed. “About what?”   
“Maybe we shouldn’t do this here…”   
“Little fucking late for that,” Tom laughed. “What’s going on?”   
Luke sighed heavily. “They, um, they did some digging on her. I mean, you guys have been photographed all over the place and… so, they obviously got curious.”   
“Would you just get to the point already?” Tom asked with an annoyed chuckle.   
“She’s married.”   
Tom’s face went completely blank. His complexion faded to a pasty white, his mouth open just a bit. After a moment he began blinking rapidly. “Wait… wait… what did you just say?”   
“She’s married, Tom. I’m sorry. It took me… a matter of seconds to find the marriage certificate and everything.”   
“No, no,” Tom said, his head waving back and forth over and over again. “There’s got to be some mistake.”   
“I don’t think there is, Tom. I’m sorry.”   
Tom swallowed the giant ball of emotion that had formed in the pit of his throat. He hadn’t even noticed that he was blinking back tears but the second he did, he could feel them burning in his eyes. “Can I… can I see that?”   
“Yes. Yes, of course.”   
Tom took the folder he’d just been handed. The article in question was inside followed by a printout of what was, in fact, a marriage license, for Daphne and someone named Patrick Tagliotti. Suddenly, he wasn’t sad. He was angry. He was incredibly angry. “I have to go.”   
“Tom, no. Just… let it go. Let her go and move on…”   
“No, no,” Tom said, shaking his head. He quickly rose to his feet and grabbed Bobby’s leash. “I’ll talk to you later.”   
“Tom…”   
He wasn’t listening. He wasn’t going to listen to anyone. There was now a mission.

Whomever was outside the door really wanted to get her attention. She’d just arrived home from dinner with Cleary and his shit bag of a son and had barely gotten changed when it began. Pounding. Incessant pounding. Of course, the more she hurried, the more the zipper on the back of her dress wanted to stick. Or the trickier her heels were to get off. Anything that would take her longer to get to the door that was being attacked by an apparent grizzly bear was currently happening. “Jesus fucking Christ I’m coming!” Daphne shouted, attempting to pull a sweatshirt over herself as she rushed toward the door. Hopefully the sweatshirt covered the fact that she wasn’t wearing pants. Just tiny lacy boy shorts. Whomever was at the door was in for a show. “What the fu….” She stopped, her eyes going wide as they landed on a jaw clenched Tom. For a moment, she was excited. She’d been holding out talking to him despite the fact that she desperately wanted to. But the more she looked at him, the more she realized the look on his face was definitely not one that was excited to see her. “What… what are you doing? What’s wrong with you? What’s the matter?”   
“What’s wrong with me?” Tom repeated with a laugh as he marched in without invitation. He’d taken Bobby home and then headed over in what was quite possibly the angriest drive of his life. More time to stew on Luke’s recent revelation probably wasn’t a good thing. “What’s wrong with me?”   
“Yeah. That’s what I said,” Daphne stated, still staring at the man as he paced and paced and paced. She was more worried than anything else at this point. He looked like he was on the verge of combusting… or erupting. “Tom, what is wrong?”   
“What’s wrong?”   
“Stop repeating me and just tell me what the fuck is going on!”   
“How’s your fucking husband?”   
Daphne froze, not quite sure she’d heard him correctly. “Wait. What?” she asked, shaking her head. “Where did…”   
“Where did I find out?” Tom finished, hot, angry tears burning in his blue eyes. His heart was racing and he was angry and he was sad and he was every negative emotion he could possibly think of in that moment. “The Daily Mail. Apparently, they do actually have some investigative techniques that I’m not privy to. And then Luke researched a bit further…and sure enough…”   
Daphne rolled her eyes and buried her face in her hands. “Of course, he did. Of course, Luke would do the digging.”   
“Don’t! You don’t get to be mad at him!” Tom cried. “He was looking out for me! He’s been looking out for me this entire fucking time and I was just too fucking stupid to listen!”   
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Daphne said with a roll of her eyes. She was drastically calmer than the man in front of her. “Would you just relax?”   
“I’m not gonna relax! Are you fucking kidding me!? Why should I calm down!? You’ve been lying to me this entire time!”   
“I haven’t LIED to anyone.”   
“Oh, really?” Tom retorted before throwing his folder down on the counter. “Explain it then. If you haven’t been lying to me since day fucking one, explain it! Explain everything!”   
“Explain what!? A fucking tabloid article?”   
“I have the marriage certificate, Daphne!”   
“Do you have the death certificate too, Tom, because he died fucking two years ago! Two years ago, yesterday, as a matter of fact.”   
The room fell incredibly silent. Eerily silent. Tom’s anger immediately melted away as he looked upon the girl, her own eyes now pooled with tears.   
“What?” Tom asked softly.   
“He’s dead, Tom. He killed himself two years ago on our fucking anniversary because I had just served him with divorce papers,” Daphne explained as the tears began to roll. “There. There’s my big dark fucking secret. I’m a monster.”   
“Daph…” Tom began as he moved toward her.   
Almost instantly, she put her hands up and stepped back. “Don’t. Don’t you dare. You don’t get to come in here screaming your head off, jumping down my throat like some kind of crazy person and then turn back around and try to comfort me. So… fucking don’t, okay? Don’t.”   
“Daphne, I’m… I’m so sorry.”   
“For what? For which part? Because, honestly, Tom, there’s a fucking laundry list of things right now you could be apologizing for.”   
Tom just watched as she blew right passed him and into the kitchen, an arctic chill coming off her body and driving directly into his bones. “I’m sorry for all of it,” he said softly. “I’ve… been a complete asshole as of late.”   
“Oh, well, I feel so much better now,” Daphne said incredibly sarcastically. She stood on her tiptoes and grabbed a bottle of whisky from the top of the fridge. “You want one or… does the drunk drink alone tonight?”   
“Stop, please,” Tom begged. “I didn’t mean…”   
“Don’t say you didn’t mean it, because… you definitely did. I know the difference.”   
Tom pursed his lips and heaved a heavy sigh. “I shouldn’t have said… any of the things I did that night.”   
“But you did.”   
“I did, yes and… I’ve spent the last three days writing an apology in my head and… none of it seemed…enough. None of it seemed like it would appropriately articulate everything I needed to apologize for.”   
“It doesn’t matter,” Daphne stated, her eyes glued to the granite countertop. “It’s fucking stupid, seriously.”   
“It matters to me,” Tom argued. He headed toward the counter, standing directly across from the girl. “I am… so sorry. I can’t… I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I said… terrible, cruel things and I would give anything to take them back and… I would give anything to take back the way I just stormed in here…” He stopped. “I’m just sorry.”   
He watched as slowly but surely Daphne’s head began to nod. “Me too,” she said so quietly he barely heard her. He continued to watch as her shoulders began to shake, tremble as she sobbed and he nearly lost his composure himself.   
“Hey, hey, come here,” he cooed, walking around the island and pulling the girl into his arms. “It’s okay,” he whispered before pressing his lips against her head. He just held them there for a bit as she continued to cry. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”   
After awhile Daphne pulled back and wiped her eyes, streaks of mascara on her porcelain skin. “I’m not crying over you so don’t go getting yourself all excited.”   
Tom tried not to laugh and he didn’t, but a smile definitely cracked through. “That would be a really odd thing to be excited about.”   
“Well, you’re a jerk, so…who knows,” Daphne stated dryly as she grabbed a kitchen towel and wiped off her face.   
“I am. I am…. A huge jerk.” He took a breath, a beat, and let the girl collect herself. “Why… why didn’t you tell me? We’ve… we’ve talked about literally every aspect of my life and… I thought yours. I just… I don’t understand why you would hide this from me.”   
Daphne pressed her lips together tightly and shook her head as her shoulders lifted to her ears. “I wasn’t… I wasn’t hiding it from you, really. I’m just… I… I don’t know. I just… don’t talk about it, like, at all. It has nothing to do with you.” She paused and took a deep breath. “You weren’t wrong, Tom. I definitely drink too much and I keep… absolutely everyone at least an arm’s length away but… there’s a fucking pretty good reason for it.”   
“What happened?” he asked. “I mean, if you…”   
“I met Patrick when I first started working for Cleary,” Daphne began. “He was the general manager and I don’t know. He… came on hard and I fought it for a really, really long time and eventually I gave in and it was over. We got married after like six months and I got this job and… It was really hard for him. He didn’t like me travelling all the time and I told him to come with me and we could travel the world together and it would be super romantic and fantastic but… that’s not what he wanted. He wanted me at home in the kitchen popping out… roasts and babies and I couldn’t do it.” She paused, the emotion once again building in her throat. “I decided to end it. I decided it would be the best for both of us and when he got the papers… he, um… he lost it. He took an entire bottle of sleeping pills and when that did nothing but make him sick he put a gun in his mouth. His mom… his mom called me two days later when she went over because he wasn’t answering the phone.”   
Tom didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know that there was anything he could say. Suddenly all of her warnings, all of her not wanting a relationship shit made so much more sense. “Daph…”   
“No,” she interrupted. “Please don’t do that. Don’t tell me it’s okay. Everyone says it’s okay but it’s not. Nothing will ever make this okay. I destroy people, Tom. I told you. I warned you. I killed the one person that loved me…”   
“You did not. Stop. He… made that decision and it is awful and tragic and heartbreaking but it is not your fault.”   
“It is though,” Daphne argued. “And I can’t do that to someone else. That is why I have to make sure that… you understand…”   
“Stop, stop it,” Tom commanded, taking both of her hands in his. “Look at me. You did not do anything wrong. People get divorced all the time. It happens. You were trying to do what was best for the both of you. You couldn’t have known how he was going to react. There’s no way.”   
Daphne just stared into his eyes for a moment. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I should’ve I just… I tell myself if I don’t talk about it, I don’t think about it but that’s a complete fucking lie because I pretty much think about it every second I’m alone. Which… contributes to the alcoholism greatly.”   
“I’m not sure you’re actually an alcoholic,” Tom said with a faint smirk.   
“You did say borderline.”   
“I did,” he snickered. “So… what were your plans for the rest of the night?”   
Daphne sighed and shrugged. “I don’t know. I was probably going to eat the pint of Chunky Monkey that’s in my freezer and… sit on the floor and wallow in my self-pity until I eventually cried myself to sleep.”   
“That sounds miserable. But… if you want, I could… stay and at least, I don’t know, hand you tissues or something.”   
Finally, she cracked. At first a smile and then a bit of a giggle. “I would… really like that actually.”   
“Good. But you’re gonna have to share the ice cream.”   
“You’re so demanding.” 

There was a lot less crying than she had anticipated. They’d moved the sofa and the coffee table and created a big nest of blankets and pillows in the middle of the floor. There was ice cream and cookies and whatever other snacks they found surprisingly hidden in the girl’s cupboards. They put a movie on but neither of them really paid attention to it. Instead they talked. And talked. And talked some more. Everything she had never told him about Patrick or any other aspect of her life, Daphne spilled. She’d never been so open with anyone and… it felt nice. By the time the credits were rolling, it had turned into the usual play fighting and giggles, tickling and cuddling.   
Tom ran his hand over the girl’s bare leg, draped over the top of his own. “So, um… have you thought about your options any more?”   
“What do you mean?”   
Tom scoffed and gave her a disapproving look. “You know exactly what I mean.”   
Daphne sighed and slammed her head back into the pillow behind her. “Not really. But I have to figure it out by Monday, so…”   
“What’s holding you back?”   
“I don’t know,” Daphne sighed. “There’s a huge part of me that wants to stay…”   
“I think you should listen to that part.”   
Daphne laughed. “Of course you do.”  
“I do,” Tom, repeated, his hand stopping at her knee. “I mean… I don’t want you to feel like… I’m pressuring you or anything in any way because that is absolutely not what I’m trying to do…”   
“I know that, Tom.”   
“I would just… I’d be really happy if you stayed. I would be… very excited.”   
Daphne stared at the man and laughed. “You’re kind of adorable, you know that?”   
“Stop trying to distract me,” Tom chuckled as they began wrestling around once again. He finally got her to stop moving and pulled her close. “Just… would it really be so bad?” he asked. “Staying here. With me. Actually, being happy… does that really sound so completely terrible?”   
“No. That’s not what I’m saying. I just…” Daphne stopped. “So much for no pressure, huh?”   
“That’s not… okay, maybe that was a little pressure…” Tom said with a laugh. “I’m sorry. I just… I really don’t want this to end. Like… ever.”   
Daphne grumbled and kicked around. “You are so… infuriating.”   
“Why? Why now?”   
“Because I’ve spent the last fucking… five months telling myself not to let this happen and look where we are. No pants on laying in the middle of my living room floor planning some sort of fairy tale future.”   
“It’s not… it doesn’t have to be a fairy tale. Those don’t exist. But… I think it could be pretty good, regardless.”   
Daphne turned to face him. “You have more faith in me than you probably should.”   
“Someone has to,” Tom smiled. He stretched an arm up to look at his watch. “Shit. It’s late. I should probably go.”   
“No,” Daphne retorted quickly. “Stay.”   
“Are you sure?” Tom asked.   
“Please?” Daphne practically begged. “I really don’t want to sleep alone tonight.”   
Tom pursed his lips and slid closer to the girl. Their legs immediately wrapped together like they were pieces of a puzzle. Her head pressed into his shoulder, her arms around his waist. He smiled sweetly before he brushed his lips against her hairline. “Alright. I’m convinced. I’ll stay.”   
“Good,” she said softly, burying her face in his chest.   
The movie had shut itself off and things fell silent, only the hum of the blank but on television hanging on the wall before them. But this silence was okay. This silence felt nice. Tom sighed contentedly and pulled a blanket from the sofa behind them, draping it over him and the girl wrapped around him like a spider monkey on a tree branch. She was going to stay. She had to stay.


	10. Chapter 10

Something was different. He wasn’t entirely sure what it was. They were hanging out again, though it was less than before. He was neck deep in rehearsals for his upcoming show and she was trying to finalize everything for opening night, yet they still made time. But something about it… something about it didn’t feel quite right. Tom couldn’t figure it out for the life of him, so he shrugged it off as his own paranoia, insecurities perhaps. He was known to have those on occasion.   
A mere eight days after their reunion of sorts was Daphne’s big night. The hotel was officially opening, and their first event was a huge soiree to honor… well, itself. Daphne hadn’t left work in the last twenty-four hours, even spending the night before in one of the rooms. She was right back up and at it at six the morning of the party and showed no signs of stopping.   
Tom had received an invitation, though he wasn’t sure if it had come from Daphne or Cleary himself, but it didn’t really matter. He was obviously going to be there. And he had a date.   
“Hey, Mum!” Tom greeted with an enormous smile as he opened his front door. “You look lovely!”   
The woman who had quite obviously given Tom his smile grinned from ear to ear in her black dress and sparkly black and silver jacket. “Thank you, darling,” Diana grinned as her son embraced her tightly. “You planning on joining me tonight?”   
“Of course,” Tom answered with a laugh. “Just running a bit behind. Rehearsal ran a bit late tonight. I’ll be ready in… two minutes.”   
“Do we have time to talk a bit?”   
“Of course,” Tom responded before he scampered off to his bedroom. He quickly returned with his shirt, blazer and tie he was supposed to be wearing that evening. “What’s up?”   
“I just… I want you to know how much I adore Daphne, I do. It’s just…”   
Tom rolled his eyes. “Have you been talking to Luke?”   
“No, no I haven’t spoken to Luke,” Diana retorted. “But I have spoken to you. And I know that just a week ago you were… completely broken by this girl…”   
“It was a misunderstanding,” Tom stated, buttoning the white dress shirt he’d just slipped on over his shoulders.   
“You two seem to have a fairly large number of those.”   
“What do you mean?” he asked as he slipping a shiny black tie over his head.   
“I just think maybe you’re rushing things a bit.”   
“We’ve known each other nearly six months,” Tom stated. “It’s not like we’re getting married.”   
“Well, good, because if I remember correctly, you’re not even dating.”   
“Mum! Jesus!” Tom exclaimed with a laugh.   
“Honey, I’m not trying to hurt you, I just… I think you might be a bit overly invested.”   
“I don’t even understand what that’s supposed to mean.”   
“Thomas,” Diana began, her voice far more stern than it had been, “you are counting on a future that you don’t even know is there. You can deny it until you’re blue in the face, but I know you. I know what’s going on in that romantic, happy-go-lucky head of yours. I've seen it before."   
“She’s not Taylor, Mum.”   
“I’m aware of that, but I have a sinking suspicion that this is going to end quite similarly. Her off, who knows where, and you broken and hurt more than you’ve ever been,” Diana stated. “Has she even told you whether she’s decided to stay or not?”   
Tom remained silent for a moment as he pulled on the matching blazer to his evergreen slacks. “No.”   
Diana sighed. “Honey…”   
“Mum, look, I appreciate the concern. I do. But I’m fine,” Tom insisted. “Things… things have honestly been different since the whole… marriage debacle. We’ve… completely slowed down. It’s like we’re getting to know each other all over again. No drunken hookups, no parties, nothing like that. We just… we sit and we talk and we… I don’t know. Something changed and… it’s just different is all.”   
“And you’re certain it’s changed in a good way? In a way that you want it to? You’ve discussed it with her?”   
“No,” Tom answered with a chuckle. “Not yet anyway, but… I just know.”   
“Oh honey,” Diana sighed, rising to her feet. She walked toward her son and took his face in her hands. “I love you so much, you know that, right?”   
“Of course, I do,” Tom laughed.   
“Good.” She paused a moment and took a deep breath. “I think you want this so much that you are completely blind to the fact that it’s about to go up in flames right before your eyes. I’m not even sure it’s about her. I think it’s more about the fact that you are absolutely terrified that you’re running out of time.”   
Tom shook his head, his mother’s words ringing in his ears. “I don’t know why you would think that…”   
“I’m not saying you don’t genuinely care for her…”   
“That sounds a LOT like what you’re saying actually.”   
“Thomas, no. I know you care about her and I am one hundred percent sure she cares about you, I just… I just don’t think things are as… good as you see them. I’m not entirely sure she’s the girl for you.”   
He could still feel the sting of her words. He had found it easier to dismiss Luke’s concerns, but… this was his mother. She would have absolutely no reason to make things up. She had no ulterior motives. It was beginning to seem as if everyone in his life saw things much differently than he did and the last time that happened… But this was different. Daphne wasn’t her. Daphne wasn’t that girl. He knew that much.   
Tom cleared his throat and glanced at the watch around his wrist. “We should really get going,” he said softly as he sniffed. “Wouldn’t want to be late.”   
“Thomas.”   
Tom looked at his mother and shook his head. “Please. No more. This is a really big night for her and I don’t want to cast a shadow over that, alright? I want to go and support her as my friend if nothing else. She needs me there.”   
“I know she does, sweetie. I’m not trying to take that away from her.”   
“Good and… I promise after things calm down, she and I will sit down and have a very real conversation about what happens next, alright? We will… make sure our plans are aligned.”   
“I think you need to.”   
“We will.” 

The night had been exquisite. An unbelievable four courses, all off the menu Daphne had herself created, wine from Cleary’s own vineyard, drinks and dancing with London’s elite. It may have been the most highbrow event Tom had ever attended, and that was saying something.   
Unfortunately, the kitchen had kept Daphne rather busy all evening. He hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the reason he was there until well after people had started leaving. He and his mother had been seated at the head table, with Cleary and Bryan and their dates for the evening. A few others he had been introduced to and already forgotten. It was quite late when the party began to wind down. Diana had decided to head back to Tom’s house, where she would be staying for at least the night. Tom put her into the car and gave his driver instructions before sending them on their way. He then went back inside and finally found his Daphne, chef coat and all.   
“There she is,” he grinned brightly.   
“I wasn’t sure you came,” Daphne stated with a laugh as he headed toward her.   
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” Tom insisted before wrapping his arms tightly around the girl. “I’m so proud of you.”   
“Thank you,” she responded sweetly. “Where’s your mom?”   
“She was done,” Tom answered with a laugh. “I sent the car back to the house so she could get some rest.”   
“Aw, I wanted to say hello.”   
“I’m certain you’ll have more opportunities.”   
Daphne smiled, though it looked to be a bit uneasily. “You enjoyed yourself then?”   
“I did. It was incredible,” Tom stated. “I knew you were good, I just didn’t realize the extent until now.”   
Daphne laughed. “You flatter me.”   
“It’s always worked for me before,” Tom stated. There was a brief silence. Tom couldn’t help but notice Daphne’s eyes darting around almost nervously. “You alright?”   
“Yeah,” the girl said with a sigh and a forced smile. “I’m just… I’m exhausted.”   
“Understandable. Shall I get us a cab?”   
“Um, I’m actually staying here. I stayed last night so all my stuff is here. Kinda just planned on going up and crashing.”   
“You… want to get a drink or something first?”   
“I’m sorry, Tom. I’m just really… done for the day,” Daphne stated.   
Tom smiled sweetly. “That’s perfectly understandable. But at least allow me to see you to your door.”   
Daphne rolled her eyes. “You are the eternal gentleman.”   
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”   
“Not at all. Just catches me off guard sometimes.” 

“This is me,” Daphne said, arriving at her room on the very top floor after an almost uncomfortably quiet elevator ride.   
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Tom asked, genuinely concerned. “Something feels incredibly off.”   
“I’m fine, Tom, I swear. Just…”   
“Tired. Right,” Tom finished. He took a deep breath. “Shall we get lunch tomorrow before I have rehearsal?”   
“Your mom’s leaving already?”   
“I’ll bring her along.”   
“Sure,” Daphne responded with a nod. “I’ll probably still be here.”   
“Are you avoiding your apartment?”   
“No, I just… they’re doing some work so…”   
Tom eyed the girl suspiciously. “There is something you’re not telling me.”   
“There isn’t. I swear.”   
“Then why do you look like you’re on the verge of tears?” Tom asked.   
Daphne blinked her eyes, staring up into the dim light above her head. “I don’t know. I’m… emotionally frail right now. Lack of sleep will do that to a person.”   
“Alright. I’m not going to force anything,” Tom stated, still not believing her simple explanation. “I’ll text you in the morning and we’ll figure out the details.”   
“Sounds perfect,” Daphne smiled.   
Tom dipped his head, his lips brushing against her cheek. “Tonight was incredible. You should be… incredibly proud of yourself.”   
“I am.”   
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Tom smiled and gave her arm a squeeze before he turned to head back to the elevator.   
However, before he could take more than a step and a half away, Daphne was calling for him.   
He turned around again, and she practically jumped at him, pressing her lips into hers so firmly it nearly knocked him to the floor. He was stunned for a moment, but the longer she kissed him, the more he melted. His arms wrapped so tightly around her waist that he lifted her a bit off the ground.   
After awhile she pulled back and put her forehead up against his. He could hear a sniff and he was positive she was crying, but she wouldn’t look at him. “What in the hell was that?” he whispered, tucking her hair behind her ears.  
“Just wanted to say goodnight,” she responded as her feet hit the floor and her eyes met the carpet.   
“Darling, that wasn’t a goodnight kiss. That was a goodbye.”   
“I’ll see you.”   
“Daphne,” Tom called after her as she headed for her door.   
“Tomorrow,” she stated, looking back at him as she slid the key into her door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”   
“Okay,” Tom responded uneasily. He watched her go inside and shut the door. He stood there for a moment, debating whether he was going to go after her or not but he soon turned for the elevator, not knowing that inside that room, there was a girl leaning up against the door she’d just closed, sobbing her eyes out. 

She wasn’t answering. He’d called a million and seven times and she wasn’t answering. Tom went to sleep the night before knowing that something was off and now he was in a panic. He never should’ve left her alone. Something was completely wrong.   
He’d arrived at the hotel just to find out she’d left early that morning. The front desk agent didn’t know where, and Cleary wasn’t in the building for Tom to ask so he quickly hopped back in his car and headed for her condo.   
“Mr. Tom!” her doorman, a middle aged gentleman named Quincy greeted as Tom came storming into the building.   
“Is she here?” Tom asked, not even realizing the rudeness in his tone.   
“I’m afraid not, but she did leave something for you,” Quincy answered.   
“Can I have a key.”   
“Mr. Tom, I’m afraid…”   
“Please, Quincy. I need to check.”   
Quincy could sense the urgency in the man’s voice and begrudgingly sighed. He dug around and found the key in questioned and handed it to Tom with an envelope with his name scrawled across it.   
“Thank you. I will bring it right back. I swear.” Tom stuffed the envelope into the pocket of his jacket before sprinting toward the stairs. He’d forgotten how many flights up her floor was but it didn’t matter. He leapt up them, two, sometimes three at a time.   
He was out of breath when he finally arrived at her door. He fumbled with the key as his brain spun around and around with thoughts he didn’t want to think. His heart tried to tell him she would be there, standing right behind the door waiting for him but…   
But nothing. That’s where she was. He took a deep breath as the lock clicked open and with a clench of his jaw and the air held in his lungs, he threw it open.   
The apartment was completely dark aside from the sunlight basking in through the windows. It was silent. And empty. The furniture was still there, sure, but every sign of life had disappeared.   
His heart began racing, practically pounding through his chest as he entered, first looking over every inch of the living room and then the kitchen. “Daphne!” he called as he headed down the hall. He checked the bathroom and then the bedroom. There was nothing. There was nobody. Every stitch of clothing, gone. Every phone charger, every knick knack, everything was gone.   
Tom tried to hold back the tears that had been building since the hotel. He knew. He knew then she was gone, he just didn’t want to believe it.   
“Fuck!” he shouted whipping the key across the room so hard it left a nick in the wall above the bed. “No!” His hands ran over his face and then into his hair, pulling a bit as he sunk to the floor. He sniffed and cried and shook his head. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real. But deep down, he knew it was. Deep down, he’d expected it.   
As he sat on the floor he heard the envelope in his pocket crinkle. He had forgotten it was there for a moment. But now he pulled it out, hesitantly tearing at the seal and pulling out a sheet of her curvy, elaborate handwriting. He could barely get passed the first sentence as the tears fell onto the letter in his hands. 

“Thomas,   
I’m sorry. I wanted so badly to tell you last night but I knew that the second I looked into those eyes I would second guess everything as I always do with you. 

This isn’t about you. None of this has ever been about you. My issues are my own and until I deal with them, I can’t be the person you need. The person you deserve. I want so badly to be that woman. To be the woman that you think I am, but I’m not and I think deep down, you know that. 

You deserve someone that makes you happy. Not one that hides things. Not one that doesn't even know what she's doing one day to the next. You deserve someone that can love you in the way you love them. Right now, I’m not even sure I love myself and that’s not good enough. That’s not what you need. 

I’m going to fix me. Somehow, some way, but I can’t do that there with you. I can’t do that while trying to make you happy though I desperately want to. Don’t wait for me. Don’t let this hold you back from what you want, what you deserve. You are the most incredible human being I’ve ever met and you deserve the world and then some. 

Who knows. Maybe some day our paths will cross again. I hope when that day comes you no longer hate me, as I’m sure, in this moment, you do. And you have every right to. I know that. 

I love you. I know that doesn’t mean anything right now, but it’s the truth. I’m so sorry for everything. For everything before and for what I’m sure I’ve now caused leaving. You are far better than I deserve and I’m sorry I couldn’t be everything you wanted. Maybe someday I will be. Maybe I won’t. I just know that how I am now isn’t good for anyone. Not even me. 

Please don’t look for me. I promise you won’t find me. No one will. Not until I feel like I’m ready. I’ve let Stephen know of my decision and I will let him know when I land. He’s promised to take care of you, so let him. Sometimes you’re not so good at that. 

I’m sorry. I love you. Daphne.” 

Tom read the letter though he wasn’t sure he retained any of it. As he crammed it into the envelope he felt his stomach churning and he sprung up, darting into the bathroom and spewing every ounce of food and drink he had in his body. As he wiped his face on his sleeve, he once again sank to the floor, his elbows pressed into his knees and his head in his hands, tears falling to the rug underneath. This had to be a nightmare. It had to be. She was going to come home at any moment. She was going to realize her mistake and come rushing in to rescue him. She had to. She just fucking had to.


	11. Chapter 11

To say Tom Hiddleston was a mess would’ve been the understatement of the century. For the first few days, weeks even, he didn’t leave the house except for work and the odd errand. That wasn’t to say friends and family didn’t try to coax him into public, even a bribe here and there, but he wasn’t biting. He’d never felt so empty, so betrayed in all of his life.   
She didn’t call. She didn’t text. Not even an email or a carrier pigeon. For all he knew, Daphne had disappeared completely from the face of the planet. It was like she’d evaporated into thin air. She was just… gone.   
But yet he saw her everywhere. Anyone on the London sidewalk with a brown bob looked like her. He heard her laugh while he was in rehearsal, smelled her perfume as he rode the train home. She was a ghost. And she was haunting him.   
His emotions on the matter would change at the drop of a hat. One minute he was sad, the next enraged, and yet the next completely numb. His rational brain tried to remind him that he always knew this could happen, but Tom wasn’t one for being rational right now.  
“You know where she is.”  
“Kid, I’m telling you I don’t,” Stephen insisted as he readied himself for his performance that night. He’d texted Tom numerous times since their friend’s disappearance, but this was the first time he’d seen the man. He was pale, disheveled, and looked like he hadn’t slept in months.   
“You’re the only one who’s talked to her.”   
“Yes and she calls me from a restricted number,” Stephen stated. “I’ve told you this. I don’t know any more than you do. I talk to her once a week, maybe. When she wants to. That’s it.”  
“Right,” Tom said, quite obviously not believing his friend’s assurance.  
Stephen stopped working on his foundation and turned to the somber star, beer bottle to his lips. “She asks about you every time.”  
Tom stated at him blankly. “Is that supposed to help?”  
“No, I’m not saying that I just…” Stephen paused. “She wants you to be happy. She wants you to be okay.”   
“Then she shouldn’t have left.”  
“Tom, you know it’s not that simple. She needed help. You have to know that.”   
“She could’ve gotten help here.”   
Stephen sighed heavily. “Look, I’m gonna be brutally honest here because I think you need it.” He took a beat. “She wouldn’t have. And you damn well know it, because as much as you say you weren’t pressuring her, you were. And that’s the last thing she needed.”   
The glare in Tom’s eyes was likely visible from outer space. “So What’re you saying? It’s MY fault she left?”  
“No. No that’s not at all what I’m saying. But had she stayed here she would’ve just fallen into place with what you wanted and things would’ve ended up a whole lot worse than they are now,” Stephen stated. He stood and walked over to the still angry man. “Look, I love Daphne. She’s one of my best friends, but she had… has a lot of issues. You’ve seen it. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It has nothing to do with her feelings about you.”   
“I find that a little hard to believe.”   
“She loves you, Tom. She wouldn’t have said it if she didn’t mean it. She’s not the type of person that just throws that word around. You just need to give her time.”   
“She’s coming back?”  
Stephen’s shoulders rose and then dropped dramatically. “I don’t know. I’m willing to bet she will, yes. But I don’t know.”   
“So what do I do? Just wait until then?” Tom asked. “Wait until she feels like she’s fixed and then act like this never happened?”  
“Of course not. She doesn’t want you to put your life on hold for her.”  
“She put my life on hold when she wasn’t in that fucking apartment when I got there! What am I supposed to do? Pretend everything is okay? Pretend I’m not completely destroyed right now and just bounce around like nothing is wrong? I can’t do that!”  
“No one is asking you to…”   
“You all think Taylor did a fucking number on me but it was NOTHING compared to this,” Tom stated. “Absolutely fucking nothing. I wish that was what happened. I wish she would’ve just ended it. I wish I never would’ve read that stupid fucking letter because the fucking hope is the worst goddamn part.”   
Stephen sighed again, but this time it was more out of sympathy. “Oh, honey. I promise it won’t feel like this forever.”   
“That’s what they always say,” Tom stated, his head hung low as he fiddled with something in his pocket.   
Stephen watched as he pulled forth a bright pink lighter. “Why do you have a lighter?” he asked with a laugh. “I’ve never once seen you smoke.”   
“I found it in my car.”   
A wave of understanding washed over the half made up drag queen’s face. “It’s hers.”  
Tom shrugged. “Probably.”   
“Oh, baby,” Stephen cooed, wrapping his arms around Tom’s shoulders. Tom didn’t reciprocate but the hug felt nice. “You’re gonna be okay. And so is she. And… maybe, when the time is right, everything will work out.”   
“I’m so tired of thinking that,” Tom stated. “I’ll be thirty eight next year and all I keep hearing is ‘when the time is right’ and ‘you’ll find the one’ and all this other bullshit and every time I have just a glimmer of hope that it could be happening, it gets dashed to smithereens. I feel like an idiot. Again. Apparently that’s par for the course with me.”   
“Don’t. Don’t do that. You can’t lose hope.”   
“It’s too late,” Tom said with a sigh and a wave of his head. “I’m gonna go home.”   
“You’re not coming to the show?”  
“I don’t really think anyone wants me there in my current state,” Tom said with a half hearted chuckle. He finally looked Stephen in the eye. “Thank you. For listening. You’re like the only person who doesn’t tell me I’m better off without her.”   
“Because I’m the only one who really knows her,” Stephen smiled. “You know I am here any time you need me.”   
“I know,” Tom beamed. He wrapped his arms around the man’s shoulders, this time initiating an embrace. “Thank you.”   
“I’ll check in tomorrow.”   
“You don’t have to babysit me.”  
“I have very strict instructions.”  
Tom scoffed and shook his head. “Whatever you say. G’night.”   
“Night, Tom.” Stephen watched the movie star leave and shook his head. Despite his love for Daphne, and his understanding of her decision, he kind of wanted to slap her upside the head in this moment.

It was nearly the exact second he walked in his front door that Tom decided he needed a change. He loved London, but to be frank, he was growing weary of it. He’d debated a movie to the English countryside a lot in the past few weeks, hell even the last year. He’d even discussed it with Daphne and now… now seemed like a good time. A good time to find some peace and quiet. Outside of the bustling city, away from the paparazzi and the public eye that always seemed to be on him. Bobby could definitely use a bigger yard, more room to roam. He definitely wasn’t puppy sized any longer. A fresh start. A clean slate. That was what he needed. He decided to start looking in the morning. For now, all he wanted was a hot shower, his bed, and some silence. If he could ever get his brain to stop spinning. 

“This is Stephen.”   
“Hey.”  
Stephen recognized the sound of her voice just as he always did. “Hey Daph,” he sighed affectionately. “How are you?”  
“Okay. You?”  
“Just finished a show. About to wash all this nonsense off.”  
“How’d it go?”  
“It was great. Tips were fantastic tonight. Though, I went in thinking I might have some company…”  
“Oh?”  
“Tom was here earlier.”   
He felt her loaded sigh vibrate through the phone. “How is he?” she asked.  
“Shall I tell you the truth or what you want to hear?”  
“The truth.”   
“He’s a mess, Daph. He’s carrying around some lighter of yours he found in his car like some symbolic torch. It’s… kind of pitiful.”   
“You didn’t tell him that, did you?” She inquired with a chuckle.  
“Of course not. I’m not that big of a dick,” Stephen stated. “He misses you, Daphne. I’ve never seen anyone so… out of it in all my life.”   
“I don’t know what to say.”   
“Call him. Stop talking to me and hang up and call the man. At least give him some closure.”   
“I can’t do that.”   
“So you leave him with some hope that some day you might return?”   
“I don’t know that I’m not.”   
“Where are you?”  
“The mountains.”  
“Doing what?”  
“Stephen.”   
“Goddammit, Daphne Jean. Give me something. Give me something to tell this poor man so he stops torturing himself every second of every fucking day.”  
“I’m at a rehab center.”   
Stephen was silent for a moment, stunned. “Are you joking?”  
Daphne laughed. “I knew that’d be your reaction. No, I’m not. I went and saw my family for a few days and then checked myself in. Ninety days. No excuses.”   
“I’m in shock,” Stephen stated. “I mean, you drink a lot, yeah but I didn’t realize it was a problem.”   
Daphne sighed. “It wasn’t just booze.”  
“What’re you talking about?”  
He could here the lump she swallowed from her throat. “Remember when I tore my rotator cuff when we were in Sydney?”  
“Yeah. You were so doped up I thought I was gonna have to carry you around in a backpack.”  
“Yeah, well, I got an endless supply of pills from it and…”  
Stephen gasped. He didn’t mean to, but it slipped. “Daphne!”  
“I know.”  
“You’re not supposed to mix pills and alcohol. You’re smarter than that. You could’ve killed yourself.”  
“You think I cared?”  
Stephen fell silent. And sad. “Oh honey…”  
“I wasn’t like… trying. But I wasn’t exactly not trying either,” Daphne stated. “I just didn’t care either way and… that’s scary.”  
“Yeah. It is,” Stephen agreed. “Honey, why didn’t you talk to me? You know I’m here for you.”  
“I didn’t talk to anyone. I was fucking embarrassed. I was traveling the world and doing all these grand, fancy things and I was miserable. I felt stupid.”   
“Don’t you ever feel guilty for having emotions.”   
“Yes, well, that’s why I’m here, I guess.”   
“I can’t believe I didn’t know.”  
“No one did. I was very careful about that.”  
“How did Tom not know? You guys were together all the time. He had to know something.”  
“He never knew me when I wasn’t high. Hard to notice a difference when what you see is the constant.”   
“Babe, you need to tell him.”  
“No. I don’t want him to know.”  
“Why not? He adores you. It’s not like it’s going to change anything.”  
“Yes, it will.”   
“Daph…”  
“No, I’m serious, Stephen. Don’t say a word. I’m sure he already thinks I’m a monster. We don’t need to make it worse.”   
“Baby, he’ll understand. He’s not that self absorbed.”   
“I’m not saying he is, I just….” Daphne stopped. “He’s perfect. In every possible way and… I don’t fit in to his idyllic life and the more I tried the more I pressured myself and the worse it got.”  
“Honey, he’s not perfect. No one is. Don’t put that kind of pressure on him or yourself.”   
“I’m a literal hot mess. I’m not dragging him into this.”   
“You kind of already did.”  
“I know and I feel guilty enough about it as is. Talking to him is just gonna make it worse. I couldn’t stand to hear the disappointment in his voice.”   
“He’s disappointed in the situation. Not in you.”  
“What’s the difference?”  
“Oh, kid. Everything makes so much more sense now.”  
“I’m glad it does to you.”  
Stephen chuckled and pursed his lips into a smile. “I’m proud of you.”   
“Don’t be too proud,” Daphne chuckled. “It’s only been two weeks.”   
“Maybe, but that’s a big step. A ballsy step, so I can still be proud.”   
“I’ve just…” Daphne paused. “I’ve got so much shit in my head. Whether it’s Patrick or my mother or Tom or whatever else and I drink to cover it up and… it’s time for a change.”   
“I think that’s a great idea.”  
“I promise I will be back. Even if it’s just to visit you and give him the goodbye he deserves, I will be back.”  
“You could’ve just told him.”   
“No. If I had he would’ve convinced me to stay and the cycle would never break. Eventually I’d just end up doing something stupid or be a raging alcoholic who couldn’t keep her shit together. I wanted to cut it off before it hit that point.”   
“I understand.”   
“You know I love him.”   
“I know. And he loves you too. He wouldn’t be so torn up if he didn’t.”   
“I have to go. Times up. I’ll call when I can.”   
“Times up? What, are you in a prison?”  
Daphne giggled. “No but I have to get to group. I don’t know when I’ll call again…”  
“You worry about taking care of you, girl. And getting better. I’ll handle everything over here.”   
“He’s gonna be okay, right? I didn’t completely ruin him, did I?”   
“I think he feels like you did now, but it’s still pretty fresh. He just needs some time.”   
“Just take care of him. Please? I just need him to be okay.”   
Stephen could practically hear the tears in the girl’s eyes. “He will be. I promise.”   
“Okay. I love you.”   
“I love you too, honey.” There was silence and then a click. Stephen hung up and sighed to himself. He wanted to smack her less now. And he definitely wanted to tell Tom but…. What an awkward position.


	12. Chapter 12

“Well, look at you!” Stephen greeted cheerfully as a gleaming Tom practically pranced toward him down the sidewalk.   
Spring had come and gone and the summer was nearly half over. It was mid-July and warm, very warm for London standards. Tom had kept his promise to himself. He was now the proud owner of a pretty little beach house in Brighton. He had Bobby had spent the last few weeks enjoying the sand, the sun and the solitude. And it was doing Tom well. The smile on his face was genuine, he had an incredible tan and the hours in the sun had bleached his hair to a brighter blonde. He was happy. He was truly happy.   
That wasn’t to say he didn’t still think about her, because he did. Quite regularly. Sometimes it made him sad and other times, he was angry, but there was nothing he could do, so why dwell on it? He decided not to, and though his head was still full of questions and very few answers, he came out the other side.   
“Hey!” Tom grinned as Stephen stood and embraced him tightly. “God, it’s been too long.”   
“A month or so, now, hasn’t it?” Stephen asked. The men hadn’t seen each other in a bit, but they had exchanged a good number of messages, Stephen intent on keeping his promise to keep an eye on the man.   
“It’s gotta be,” Tom stated. “Feels like forever.”   
“You look good, kid,” Stephen said, not hiding the fact that he was most definitely checking the man out. “The beach looks good on you.”   
“God, it’s incredible. Really fantastic,” Tom answered. “It’s… so calm and peaceful. It’s amazing. It really is.”   
“I can see that. I’m a bit jealous.”   
“You should visit. Come on out next weekend, it’ll be great! We'll barbeque and swim and I can take you to all the amazing little pubs. It'll be fun!”  
“I’ll definitely check my schedule,” Stephen said with a laugh. “God, you really are back to your old self, huh?”   
Tom thought a moment and sighed. “Mostly. There are… still days that she is… the only thing I can think about. But… have to get on, yeah? Won’t make a bit of difference to dwell on it.”   
Stephen pressed his lips together in a tight smile. “I’m proud of you. I know the last few months haven’t been easy.”   
“No, but… I have… quite a few great people that helped me through. You included. So, thank you.”   
“Nonsense. I was just being a good friend.”   
“Yes, well, you were Daphne’s friend before mine so, you… wouldn’t have had to take care of me like you did. I truly appreciate it.”   
Stephen smirked a bit uneasily and gave his head a wave. “You… I’m going to walk away from this feeling like shite, now. So, thank you for that.”   
Tom’s eyes narrowed. “What’re you talking about?”   
Stephen sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “God, I really don’t want to do this right now. You’re doing so well.”   
“Stephen, what?” Tom asked, his concern only growing. “What’s wrong? Where is she?”   
“She’s fine, Tom,” Stephen insisted. “She’s fine. In fact, she’s probably better than she’s ever been. She just… she sent me something to give to you. A letter.”   
“Another letter?” Tom asked with a scoff. “She couldn’t just call?”   
“Afraid her therapist would probably have advised against that.”   
Again, Tom’s eyebrows arched inquisitively. “What’s going on?”   
“It’s all in the letter.” Stephen looked down as he slid a letter toward the man across the table from him.   
“I don’t want the damned letter,” Tom said, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms defiantly across his chest. “I just want someone to tell me what the fuck is going on. I’m sick of the games.”   
“It’s not a game, Tom, she…”   
“She what? Changed her mind? Decided she wanted nothing to do with me so she just stepped out? Fell in love with someone else and didn’t know how to tell me?”   
Stephen scoffed a bit. “No. No, none of those things.”   
“Then what?”   
“She was in rehab, Tom. Some… fancy wellness center in California.”   
Tom’s eyes squinted in confusion. “She what? Why? I mean… she didn’t drink THAT much…”   
“It wasn’t just… the drinking…” Stephen sighed. “You should really read the letter.”   
“Just tell me!” Tom pleaded. “My god, I’m so sick of the fucking secrets.”   
“Pills. She was on pills, Tom. Constantly. Ever since we were in Sydney. She tore her rotator cuff and had surgery and… I guess she liked the meds a bit too much.”   
Tom’s hands rose to comb through his hair but ended up covering his mouth instead. “You can’t… seriously?” he asked, his voice soft with disbelief. “I… never saw her take anything aside from the odd aspirin… or when she had pneumonia… how did I… We were together constantly, how did I not know?”   
“I asked myself the same thing,” Stephen responded somberly. “We didn’t know because she didn’t want us to.”   
Tom rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “I don’t… I don’t even know what to say. I don’t know how to respond.”   
“I didn’t either. I was in shock when she told me. I mean… that many pills and that much booze… she’s lucky…”   
“Jesus Christ, she could’ve killed herself,” Tom suddenly interjected, the idea only just coming to his mind. “Fucking hell!”   
“I told you it was bad, Tom. Even I didn’t know how right I was.”   
“But she’s okay now, right? She’s alright?”   
“She’s better. She’s got a long road ahead, but she’s okay.”   
“Where is she?”   
“In a sober house. She did ninety days and then decided she wasn’t quite ready for the real world yet so she… decided to stay.”   
“In California?”   
“Yes.”   
Tom opened his hands as if to say ‘what’ then slapped them on his knees. He scoffed. “I don’t… I don’t even know what to say right now.”   
“Her doctor… therapist, whatever, thought it’d be best if she not talk to you… in person… or on the phone, you know, yet, so… she sent this to me for you. I’d mentioned you’d moved and… somehow with all of her shit, she still remembered.”   
Tom sighed and shook his head. “Was I really that self-involved? Did I really not see what was going on right in front of my face?”   
“Tom, it started before you even knew her. Everything you saw was normal to you. I’m the one who missed… everything, apparently.”   
“Yeah but… I spent days with her. Consecutive days. Here. In Paris. Her house, my house. I was there. All the time. And I never suspected anything. At all. Not once.”   
Stephen sighed and looked at his watch. “I have to get back to work. Take the letter. Read it. Maybe it’ll… help you understand.”   
“Yeah… yeah. Thank you.”   
“Call me. If you need to vent.”   
Tom chuckled, rising to embrace the man once again. “I always do. Next weekend, seriously.”   
“I will let you know.”   
“Good.” Tom stayed standing as Stephen headed down the street. He reached up, running his fingers through his hair as the other hand rested upon his hip. That was a lot. He could only assume the letter would be more. 

“Have you read it?”   
Tom didn’t look up at his sister, just stared at the letter sitting in the middle of the table. Despite buying the beach house, Tom had chosen to keep his home in London as well. He was there often enough. Work, meetings, his friends, it made sense. He could have the best of both worlds, and not have a two-hour commute when he needed to be in town.   
He shook his head. “I’m terrified.”   
“Of what?” Emma asked, taking a seat on the sofa, opposite her big brother.   
“What she has to say,” Tom said with a chuckle. “It sounds… stupid, I know. But…”   
“But what, Thomas?”   
Tom took a deep breath and sighed. “What if… what if it was all just… I mean, she was… she was high the entire time. Was I just… was I just a result of that? Was I just some sort of inebriated mistake?”   
“Tom, no. You can’t think that.”   
“But I do. I do think that,” Tom stated. “I was falling head over arse for this girl and… I don’t know if she even remotely felt the same.”   
“She said she loved you.”   
“Maybe she thought she did. Maybe it was just…”   
“Stop it,” Emma commanded, sliding closer to him. “Stop torturing yourself. You weren’t some drunken hookup, Tom. You weren’t a mistake or an accident. You were the best thing that happened to that girl. If she never said it, fine, I will. I know you. I know you better than almost anyone on this entire planet and I know the incredible human being you are. She was lucky to have you. Even if it was just for a few months.” She paused and waited for some sort of reaction from her silent sibling, but nothing came. “Tom, if anything you are part of the reason she got help. You are part of the reason she decided to do this. To better herself. To grow and heal and… allow herself to be happy. She wouldn’t have done it without you.”   
“You don’t know that.”   
“I’m fairly confident. She didn’t get help in the year since her accident. She only got it after she met you. After you showed her what life could be like. If that’s not a good enough reason to clean yourself up, I don’t know what is.”   
Tom sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know.”   
“Read the letter, Tom. Not today, maybe. Maybe not tomorrow. But read it. When you’re ready. I promise it’s not the horror you’ve got in your head.”   
“I’ve gotta get ready,” Tom stated with a sigh.   
“You’ve got the big party tonight, yeah?”   
Tom nodded. “Is it weird?”   
“What?”   
“That I’m going to the opening night party for the restaurant she was supposed to open?”   
“Weird? No. I don’t imagine it will be easy, though.”   
“I was going to say no, but… Joe was… quite insistent.”   
“Even her boss adores you.”   
Tom huffed a laugh through his nose. “Joe’s a great guy. His son is… a real piece of shit, but… Joe’s a good man. And… he cares about her. He kind of understands what I felt. What I feel, because it’s obviously not over, no matter how much I want it to be.”   
“Maybe it’s not supposed to be,” Emma stated. She leaned forward and pressed her lips into the side of her brother’s head. “I love you. Call me if you need me.”   
“I will,” Tom smiled. He rose and walked her to the door. “Hey, Em?”   
“Yes?”   
“If I can’t do it, you’ll come back and read it to me, yeah?”   
Emma smiled sweetly. They had the same smile. The same perfect, shimmering smile. “Of course. What are sisters for?”   
“You’re the best,” Tom grinned and gave the girl a wave as she headed down the path to her car. He sighed and glanced at his watch. He really did have to get moving. 

“Joe, this place is incredible,” Tom stated, drink in hand as he was given the grand tour. Most of the guests, ALL of the guests, rather, had been shown only the dining room. Tom, on the other hand, had been given the in depth tour, the kitchen, the back rooms, office, even the secret VIP dining room scoured away in the back of the building. “It’s beautiful.”   
“It is, isn’t it?” Joe retorted. He paused and chuckled under his breath. “Though, I do have to say, I would’ve liked to see what Daphne would’ve done with the place.” He glanced at Tom who just smiled a bit uncomfortably. “Sorry, I don’t mean to drudge all that up.”   
“No, no, it’s fine,” Tom assured. “She was kind of… drudged up anyway.”   
“Something happen?”   
“Well, she, um, she gave Stephen a letter to give to me. I haven’t read it yet, because I am… scared shitless, honestly.”  
“Of what?”   
Tom sighed heavily. “She’s… she went to a rehabilitation center apparently. She was taking medication more than she should’ve…”   
“From her shoulder?”   
Tom looked at Joe, surprised. “You knew?”   
“I caught her. Once or twice. She just played it off as it was bothering her at that moment but I was always a bit suspicious,” Joe explained. “My wife… she had a similar problem. I kind of knew what it looked like, I guess.”   
Tom’s head slowly began to wave back and forth. “I don’t get it. I don’t understand how I didn’t see it. How I didn’t see an inkling of any sort of situation. I mean… I teased her about how often we went out. We got in a fight once and I made some snide comment about her drinking, but I didn’t actually think she had a genuine problem and then… she was hiding all of this. I don’t know if I feel more stupid or… like a self-centered prick.”   
“Don’t beat yourself up too much, kid,” Joe said, clapping his hand on Tom’s shoulder. “You can mull it over again and again and it won’t change anything. Every decision she made was her own. You didn’t notice anything because she made sure you didn’t. She didn’t want you to. She was embarrassed. Ashamed. She’s a proud girl and her admitting she needs any sort of help takes an act of God. When I first hired her, she was on the verge of being homeless. I’m not even sure how she ended up in Dallas, but she was there and… I don’t know. I saw something in her and… I gave her a job and… a room at the hotel. I don’t remember how I sold her on it. She never would’ve accepted if she had known that I knew. And here we are. She’s… professionally, one of my biggest success stories. She’s an amazing, strong, talented woman. But she is… a stubborn one…”   
Tom snickered. “You can say that again.”   
Joe looked at the man next to him. He was young enough to be his son, hell, to him he looked like a boy. A boy that was still in pain no matter how much he tried to fight it. “Tom, I know it might be hard to believe, but she really did care about you. Even with Patrick she was never like she was with you. Don’t let all of this get you down. What you two had was real. I know that for certain.”   
“Thank you,” Tom said with a smile. “I’m not going to lie that is… exactly what I needed to hear because…”   
“Oh I know,” Joe laughed. “I could see it in your face.”   
Tom breathed deeply, in through his nose, out through his mouth. “You think she’ll come back? Some day?”   
Joe shrugged, but yet began nodding his head. “I think she will, eventually, yeah. I mean, she just told me she was taking a break. As far as I know she’s on sabbatical. She’s still got a lot of work to do.” The men grinned at each other before Joe’s hand once again hit Tom’s shoulder. “Come on. We’re missing the party.” 

“Excuse me!”   
Tom glanced over his shoulder as he headed out, the valet promptly pulling his car to the front of the restaurant. “I’m sorry?” he asked the bubbly red head jogging toward him.   
“You dropped this,” the girl stated, holding out Tom’s mobile.   
“Oh my God! Thank you!” he exclaimed, taking the phone from the girl. “I hadn’t even noticed.”   
“Well then it’s lucky I was walking out behind you.”   
Tom smirked, his smile sparkling in the streetlights. “I guess it is.”   
“Audra,” the beauty said, extending a red manicured hand in the man’s direction. She was gorgeous. Petite, porcelain skin, ginger red hair and glowing green eyes. Tom was a bit taken aback.   
“I, uh… Tom.”   
“Please. Does anyone not know who you are at this point?”   
Tom chuckled brightly, the tip of his tongue pushing out his teeth. “I assume there’s a few.”   
“Well they must live under a rock,” Audra stated. She took a deep breath and sighed, bouncing up on the toes of her kitten heels. “I’m not… I’m not usually so forward but, um… would you fancy a drink?”   
Tom licked his lips. There was a small voice in his head saying no. He needed to go home. He needed to finish whatever he had with Daphne. He had to read his letter. But then he thought a bit more and eventually nodded his head. “You know, that doesn’t sound half bad.”   
“Fantastic. I know a great pub just down the street.”   
Tom turned to the valet. “Could you keep ‘er for a bit? I think we’ll be walking.” The valet simply nodded and climbed back into the black Jaguar. “Shall we?”   
“Yes please,” Audra beamed.   
This was in no way how he anticipated this night ending. But he had a feeling that it was going to be alright.


	13. Chapter 13

“Why are you so upset with me?” Tom asked with a chuckle.   
“Why do you think it’s funny?” Audra asked.  
They’d been seeing each other a few weeks now. Maybe six, he couldn’t really recall. She was causing him to spend more time in London than he had been, but she was a lovely bit of a distraction. Such a distraction, he’d nearly forgotten about Daphne, or, at least, he told himself he had, and he’d definitely forgotten her letter, which sat, he presumed, still unopened, on the coffee table in the living room. Despite their dates and cuddles and kisses, Tom wasn’t intent on referring to the young woman as his girlfriend quite yet but if you asked the girl, they were together.   
Audra was sweet. Most of the time anyway. She had a bit of a bite when they weren’t seeing eye to eye. She was gorgeous and fun, spunky and sparkly. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, he obviously did. He just wasn’t sure he saw a real future with her. Not yet anyway.   
“I’m not… I don’t think anything is funny, alright?” Tom answered. “I just don’t understand why you’re acting like this is a shock. I have to work, Audra. And my work requires travel. This isn’t anything new. You knew what you were getting into.”  
“But six weeks, Tom? What am I supposed to do for six weeks?”  
“Darling, it’s really not that long in the grand scheme of things. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”   
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child.”  
Tom sighed heavily. This had been the last three days of his life. He was getting ready to leave for work (the latest installment of the Kong series) in Vietnam. It was the first of three locations. There would be a short break in between each, but he was essentially to be gone the next few months, aside from a few days here and there and Audra was simply not having it. She was young, twenty-four Tom had learned after they’d already begun spending time together. He tried to pretend the age difference didn’t affect things, and if it had been only age, it maybe wouldn’t have. But there was a stark difference in their maturity, in their current goals, in their behavior and those were the qualities that were presently holding him back.   
“That is not what I’m doing, come on now,” Tom insisted. “I’m just saying this comes with the territory. It’s part of me and if you’re going to lose your mind every time I leave for work, this isn’t going to last.”  
“So, now you’re breaking up with me?”  
“I didn’t say that!” Tom exclaimed. He exasperatedly ran his hand over his face. He told himself to keep his cool. She was scared. That’s all. “Stop reading into things, darling.”   
Audra sighed heavily from her end of the call. “Your last night in town and we’re not even together.”   
“We will be, love. Once you are off work and I’m done with Luke, we will be. I promise and my flight’s not until later tomorrow.”   
Audra sighed again. “This sucks.”  
“I never said it’d be easy,” Tom said with a sweet smile. He looked at the Rolex around his wrist. “I have to get going, love. Let me know when you’re done and I promise I will see you tonight, okay?”  
“Okay.”  
“Alright. Cheer up. Don’t worry so much. It’s all going to be alright, I promise.”   
“Whatever you say, sir.”   
“Get to work. Call me later.” Tom hung up and stuffed his phone into his pocket. He looked at his suitcases sitting in his living room. Audra might not be excited, but he kind of was. 

“So, how is she?” Luke asked as the men sat at dinner. They were in a new little bistro in the heart of London. It was a quiet and light atmosphere. Tom was enjoying it. “You head over heels in love yet?”   
Tom snickered. “I wouldn’t go that far.”   
Luke eyed his friend oddly. “Who are you and what have you done with my Tom?”   
Tom laughed brightly. “What do you mean?” he asked. “It’s only been a few weeks.”   
“Tom, with Daphne you were obsessed within a few weeks. Taylor as well…”   
“Yes, well, you see how either of those situations worked out for me,” Tom interrupted. He shook his head. “I like her, I do. I’m just trying to… do things a bit differently this time. Not run in blindly and get smacked in the face with reality later.”   
“Makes sense,” Luke stated with a nod, taking a sip from the glass of water before him. “She seems… sweet.”   
“She is,” Tom nodded, “Most of the time. She’s quite cross with me at the present moment.”   
“Why’s that?”   
“Ah, we had a bit of a row. Work. Not real keen on me leaving and… nothing I seem to say is what she wants to hear.”   
“She’s young, Tom…”   
“She’s really young,” Tom stated with a snicker, his blue eyes going wide. “I didn’t realize how young until we started spending more time together.”   
“Too young perhaps?”   
Tom sighed. “I don’t know yet. I feel bad. Letting something like age get in the way but… we’re at different stations in life. She still wants to go out every weekend and… do all the things twenty-four-year-olds want to do. I’m… pressing closer to forty with each passing day. I’m kind of over all of that.”   
“You weren’t with Daphne,” Luke stated.   
“That was different. Daphne and I spent just as much time curled up reading as we did out on the town.”   
“You still miss her?”   
Tom said. “I try to tell myself I don’t but… I don’t know. I just wish I knew she was okay.”   
“Stephen hasn’t said?”  
Tom shook his head and shrugged simultaneously. “We haven’t talked much lately. I feel bad about it, actually. I met Audra and I stopped checking in.”   
“I don’t think anyone can blame you.”   
“No, but he lost Daph as much as I did. I know he was supposedly taking care of me but I think I was sort of watching him as well,” Tom stated. “I should call him. Remind me when I get back.”   
“Am I keeping your appointments now?”   
“Someone has to.”   
“Make your girlfriend.”   
“Can we just order, please? I do have other things I’d like to do this evening,” Tom said with a chuckle.   
“Or other people.”   
“Hey.” 

Dinner was finished and as soon as the drinks were, Tom would be on his way. The men had talked and laughed well into the late evening. Audra would be off work soon and Tom fully intended on keeping his promise. The last thing he wanted to do was make her more agitated. He was beginning to realize she had a bit of a temper.   
After goodbyes and quick hugs, Tom made his way down the London sidewalk. It a beautiful early fall night, just a slight chill to the air. The streetlights were blurred by a fog setting in. He felt like he was walking through a postcard of his favorite city.   
As Tom got closer to Audra’s restaurant of employment, his cell phone rang out. “Hey,” he answered. “I’m almost there.”   
“Almost where?” Audra asked.   
“The restaurant… I told you I was coming to pick you up…”   
“I, um, I’m already at my place. Things got slow. They sent me home early,” Audra stammered. Tom thought she sounded a bit nervous, which he found odd, but he brushed it off. “Just come here.”   
Tom snorted a bit. “That’s like sixteen blocks in the opposite direction that I’m currently going. I’ll call a car.”   
“If you take the left before the restaurant, you’ll hit the train.”   
“I’m not taking the train at nearly midnight. I’ll call a cab.”   
“Okay, but…”   
“Why do I feel like you’re trying to keep me away from the place you work?” Tom asked with a chuckle.   
“I’m not. I just…”   
As Audra’s voice continued, it turned into nothing but a hum. Tom’s jaw went slack as he watched the lights in the building go out and a figure emerge onto the street, stopping to lock the door. The lights were dim, but he recognized her. At first, he tried to convince himself that it was just the couple of drinks he had at dinner. He had seen her so many times when she wasn’t actually there that she had almost become a mirage to him. But this was real. She was there.   
“Tom?” Audra practically shouted into his ear.   
“Yeah…yeah, I’ll be there in a bit.” Tom, without another word, ended the call and jogged the few yards left between he and the restaurant. “Am I imagining things?”   
She jumped, startled. The look of bewilderment on her face showed that she had expected his presence no more than he hers. “Hi…” she said almost breathlessly.   
“Hi?” Tom repeated, still in shock. She had changed. Her hair was longer, redder and tied up in a sloppy bun. She’d put on weight. Not in a bad way, though. Her face, her figure were fuller. Healthier. She looked more alive than she ever had. “What… the… how…”   
“What’re you doing here?” Daphne asked. “Audra left almost an hour ago.”   
Tom shook his head, trying to shake off the surprise of the girl’s sudden reappearance. “How do you…”   
“Are you kidding?” she asked with a laugh. “I see her every day. Trust me. She hasn’t been keeping you a secret.”   
“Every… how long have you been here?” Tom asked. His breathing was short and shallow. He felt like he had a fever. He could feel sweat forming at his hairline and his heart was pounding in the pit his throat.   
“Back in London?”   
“No. Standing on the street.”   
Daphne laughed a bit and looked down, kicking the toe of her shoe against a pebble on the pavement. “About a month.”   
He felt like he had just gotten punched right in the gut. “A month?” he repeated. “You’ve been here a month and you didn’t even think of…”   
“Of course, I did,” Daphne interrupted. “It was the first thing I wanted to do when I got back and then Stephen told me you were seeing someone and… I didn’t want to come in and mess things up for you.”   
“Mess things up for me? You mean more than you did when you just fucking ran off in the night like I meant nothing?”   
“Tom, you know that’s not true.”   
“How? How the fuck was I supposed to know that? Because you said you loved me in some stupid Dear John letter? Do you have any idea what the last six months have been like for me? Any at all?”   
“They haven’t exactly been fun for me either.”   
Tom looked up, searching for a single star to focus his nervous attention on but the fog had them all blocked from his view. He pushed his fingers through the blond curls atop his head. “What in the… Audra knew you were here all of this time and she never said a word. Not one fucking word.”   
“I’m not sure she’s exactly thrilled about my presence. Don’t be mad at her.”   
“I’m gonna be mad at whomever the fuck I feel like,” Tom stated, turning his gaze back to the woman standing a few feet before him. “Goddammit, Daph! I’ve done nothing for the past six months but wait for this moment. But wait to be able to see you and actually talk to you and find out what the fuck was going through your head and now… the second I think I’ve moved on…”   
“Tom, I…”   
“No. Just stop,” Tom commanded. “You got to decide what we were. You got to decide to leave. You got to decide to come back. I’m deciding what’s going to be said right now. Not you.” He watched as Daphne gulped away a lump from her throat. “Jesus fucking Christ. I can’t even believe I’m looking at you right now.”   
“I figured it would happen eventually,” Daphne said somberly. “Especially when I found out about you and Audra…”   
“I didn’t even know you knew each other.”   
Daphne scoffed. “I hired her, Tom. She was one of the waitresses I hired for the hotel. She was there the night of the party.”   
Tom gave his head a wave. “She never said a thing…”   
“What was she supposed to say?” Daphne asked. “Hey, the drug addict who broke your heart and took off is my boss? I see her every single day.”   
“She should’ve said something. She’s fully aware of…” Tom stopped and took a breath. “My heart feels like it is about to beat out of my chest and… I don’t know what to say.”   
“I’m sorry, Tom,” Daphne said softly. “I am. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to actually talk to you when I was… there, but… it would’ve only made things worse.”   
“Why? Because you felt guilty?”   
“Of course, I did. I knew that I hurt you and that killed me. It was the most torturous part of all of this. Not the withdrawals, not the past, what I did to you…” Daphne stated, looking up at the man with disbelief. “I meant every word I said in that letter, Thomas.”   
“How do I know that?” Tom asked. “How do I know I just wasn’t some… source of entertainment for you? Something to bide the time in between… fixes or whatever you fucking call them.”   
Daphne shook her head so wildly she thought it’d fly off her shoulders. “No. No, that’s not what you were at all. Tom, I loved you…”   
“But it’s past tense…”   
Daphne shrugged. “You’re with someone else. Does it really matter?”   
Tom gulped as the first tear trickled down his cheek. “I don’t… I don’t know,” he stated, raising his palm to his cheek and wiping the trail away. “What the fuck am I supposed to do right now? What the fuck am I supposed to think?”   
“I don’t know what to tell you, Tom.”   
“Nothing’s really changed then, huh? Your addiction, a secret, your husband, a secret, you left in secret and you come back… in secret. I should’ve expected nothing else.”   
Daphne sighed. “I know you’re upset. And… you have every right to be for… a multitude of reasons, but I never, NEVER meant to hurt you. Not then and not now. All I want is for you to be happy.”   
“Well then maybe you should’ve stayed gone.”   
Daphne winced at his quip. She expected him to be upset, yes, but that one… that hurt a little bit. “Just because I’m here doesn’t mean you have to have anything to do with me.”   
“Oh perfect. We’ll just go back to our lives and pretend tonight didn’t happen then, huh?” Tom said sarcastically.   
“If that’s what you want…”   
“It’s not that fucking simple, Daphne.” He paused and hid his face in his hands, rubbing and rubbing until his eyes saw spots. “Jesus fuck, this not what I need right now.”   
“Then go, Tom.”   
“Pushing me away as always, I see.”   
Daphne rolled her eyes. “What do you want from me?”   
“I don’t know!” Tom exclaimed. “I don’t even know what I want from ME right now!”   
Daphne stayed silent as a couple passed by on the sidewalk. She gave them a smile, trying to dissuade their interest in she and Tom’s interaction. “If you want to talk, we should probably do that somewhere else. We’re only drawing attention to ourselves out here.”   
“I can’t. I can’t do this right now.”   
“I’m sorry I didn’t call. I should’ve.”   
“Yeah, well a lot of good that does me now,” Tom stated. He began pacing, back and forth and back again. “Goddammit.” He finally stopped moving and just stared at her. Stared so hard that his eyes could’ve burned holes through the jacket she wore. “I loved you. I would’ve done anything you wanted. Anything. All you ever had to do was ask. I would’ve given you the world.”   
“I know that, Tom. I know. But I didn’t feel…” She paused, the emotion blocking her voice from being heard. “I didn’t feel like I deserved that. It wouldn’t have worked. You would’ve ended up hating me and I couldn’t… I couldn’t bear that.”   
“And you assume I don’t feel that way now?”   
“If you do, then… you do. I deserve whatever repercussions my actions caused. I know that and I can’t change them.”   
“I have to go.”   
“Okay.”   
Tom turned to walk away but looked back at Daphne, somber, standing in the streetlight. “If you had told me you were coming back… I never would’ve started anything with her…”   
“I did, Tom. You’d know that if you’d read the other letter.”   
Tom’s brows furrowed, and he shook his head. “I… I don’t even…”   
“She threw it away. She found it on your table, unopened and she threw it away. She said you told her to, but I had a hard time buying that one.” Daphne took a deep breath, her chest inflating then falling flat as she exhaled slowly. “I’m here every day. I live in the same apartment. I have the same number. If you decide you want to talk… I’m easy to find.”   
“So, you got… all the messages… all the texts.”   
Daphne nodded and gave the man a sweet smile. “I did. And I listened to them and cherished them all.”   
Tom smiled a bit and laughed. “I leave tomorrow.”   
“I know.”   
He gulped. “I don’t know what to do.”   
“I can’t answer that for you.”   
He nodded his head. “alright... then... get home safe, yeah?”   
“It’s just around the block. I’ll be alright.”   
They gave each other faint, but genuine smiles and Tom watched as the girl turned away. He knew he had another matter to take care of before he retired for the night. 

“You threw it away! You just threw it away! That letter belonged to me!” Tom exclaimed, pacing the floor of Audra’s bedroom. She shared a small apartment with a couple of other girlfriends who were luckily out for the evening. "I can't believe you would do that!"   
“You obviously didn’t want it. It wasn’t open,” Audra stated, annoyed and defiant. “You didn’t even realize it was gone until she mentioned it. How much could you have really cared?”   
“You don’t get to decide how much I care,” Tom retorted angrily. “Jesus Christ, Audra. You listened to me talk about her. You listened to me worry and you never even once thought you should tell me that she was back?”   
Audra shrugged. “That’s her job. Not mine. If she wanted to see you, she would’ve contacted you.”   
Tom shook his head. “That’s not fair. She was scared. You know what she went through.”   
“Why are you defending her? You’re supposed to be over her. You’re with me.”   
“Am I?” Tom asked. “Because the person I would want to be with wouldn’t have kept me in the dark about this.”   
Audra rolled her green eyes. “Can we not do this? It’s your last night in town. Let’s have some fun…” She grinned at the man mischievously as she moved toward the end of the bed where he stood. “I can think of a lot better things to do right now…”   
Tom jerked his arm out of her reach. “Don’t. Don’t do that. Don’t try to distract me. It’s patronizing.”   
“So, you’re just… done then? We’re over because your little crack whore is back in town?”   
“Don’t call her that,” Tom snarled. “She never did anything to you.” He took a breath and just looked at her a moment. Suddenly every concern he ever had about the girl, her age, her maturity it all seemed too much for him to ignore. “I don’t know why I thought this would ever work.”   
“What’re you talking about?”   
“This. You and me. We’re far too different.”   
“Tom, come on…”   
“I think we need to relax a bit. I’m gonna be gone for awhile anyway and…”   
“Remind me to thank Daphne tomorrow.”   
“This isn’t about her. This is about you and your actions,” Tom stated. “I don’t like people keeping secrets from me, Audra. Especially not the people I’m supposed to trust implicitly. And I really don’t like people making my decisions for me.”   
“This is bullshit.”   
“Well, we can agree on that.” He bent over, picking his jacket off the bed. “I’m sorry, okay, I just… I can’t rationalize being with someone who would keep secrets from me. Someone who thought destroying my property was an okay thing to do.”   
“I just didn’t want… I wanted her gone, Tom.”   
“And she was. If you would’ve just left things alone, I was getting there. But I have to do that on my own time.”   
“So you’re going back to her?”   
“No. I never said that was even an option,” Tom stated. He dipped down again and pressed his lips into the girl’s forehead. “I’ll call you when I get back, okay? I just need some time to sort things out.”   
“Fine. But I might not be here waiting. It’s not like you’re the only one on the list, Tom.”   
Tom rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Then you do what you have to do. I’ll manage either way.”   
Audra glared as the star exited her room. She glared even more when she heard her front door shut. Unbeknownst to Tom, Daphne’s life was about to get a bit harder.


	14. Chapter 14

Sleep was apparently not on Tom’s agenda that night. He rolled back and forth, from side to side, trying to force his eyes to remain closed, but nothing seemed to work. He was still angry with Audra and all of her secrets. And he was obviously still angry with Daphne but… at the same time, he was mad at himself. The way he had spoken to her, the awful things he said. He regretted all of it. He needed to fix things. Or at least smooth them over.   
He forced himself out of bed at eight the next morning. He didn’t have to be at the airport until two, so he went for his customary morning run and then made breakfast. He saw Bobby off to his sister’s, where the pup would remain until Tom arrived home. He checked through his luggage to make sure he had everything he could possibly need, though he was sure he’d missed something. And then he decided he needed to talk to her. Daphne her, not Audra. He couldn’t care less about Audra right now. 

Daphne nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the knock on the glass door. She was behind the bar, doing inventory, checking what needed to be ordered, completely in her own little zone. She expected to look up and turn away guests, eager for the restaurant’s daily opening, but instead she found Tom outside, giving her a sheepish smile and a wave.   
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. “I thought you left today.”   
“I do,” Tom answered. “I just… I felt like I owed you an apology.”   
Daphne eyed him, confused, before shaking her head. “Thomas, you don’t owe me anything.”   
“No, I do,” Tom argued. “I was… shocked when I saw you last night and… that resulted in me being cruel and callous and that’s not anything I ever strive to be. Especially not toward you.”   
“Tom, it’s okay,” Daphne insisted with a laugh. “You have every right to be angry with me.”   
“I can be angry without being mean,” Tom stated. “What you did, getting help and… taking care of yourself, that took a lot… a lot of bravery and courage, the likes of which I am certain I’ve never exhibited myself and… even though I was… I AM hurt by the way it was done, I know that you did what was best for you. And I’m proud of you for it.”   
Daphne smiled sweetly. “Well, thank you. I appreciate that.” There was a brief moment of silence, Daphne’s eyes glued to the floor and Tom’s glued to her. “You really shouldn’t be here. Audra is going to be in soon…”   
Tom scoffed. “Yeah, pretty safe to say she doesn’t want to see me right now. Or I her for that matter.”   
A look of concern washed over Daphne’s face. “What happened?”   
Tom shook is head and his mouth turned into bit of a frown. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”   
“Well… if it had anything to do with me, that’s likely not true. She’s been… hard enough to deal with.”   
“What do you mean?”   
“Nothing,” Daphne said with a wave of her head. “I can handle her.”   
“No. What’s she doing? If she’s been coming after you, I need to know.”   
“It’s just… stupid little high school like pranks, it’s nothing. She…” Daphne stopped, not sure she wanted to explain things to the man before her. “She decorated my office last week. With pictures… of you… and her. She left an… array of pill bottles around the kitchen, with… little hand-written love letters or candies stuffed in them. It’s nothing. She’s just… a teenage mean girl…”   
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Tom asked, maddened by the young girl’s actions. “Daph, that’s not okay. You shouldn’t have to put up with that.”   
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine. I just… I don’t need Cleary thinking I haven’t cleaned up my act because I’m fairly certain I’m on thin ice the way it is.”   
“He loves you.”   
“I know that, but he’s also really worried that it’s too soon for me to jump back into this and if he… stumbles upon one of her… tricks, it will likely end worse for me than it will her.”   
“I’ll talk to her.”   
“No. Don’t. That will only make things worse,” Daphne stated, her eyes wide and pleading. Tom stayed silent. She could see that he was angry. “Tom, seriously. I’m fine. I can handle her.”   
“I cannot believe I for one second even thought she was…” He stopped himself and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”   
“Don’t apologize for her. She’s… a spoiled brat who only works here because her parents are friends with Cleary. I didn’t want to hire her in the first place but they’re all friends and I kind of had to. This is supposed to be teaching her some sense of responsibility but… I think that would take an act of God and I’m definitely not qualified for that job.”   
Tom snickered lightly. “Alright. I’ll keep quiet. For now anyway, but if things get worse, you have to tell me. Or Cleary. Someone before this all gets entirely out of hand. I can talk to him. He’ll listen to me.”   
“I will. I promise.”   
“Okay,” Tom said with a nod. He glanced at his watch and then back to the girl. “I don’t have a lot of time but, when I get back, I’d really like it if we could get together and… actually talk about all of this, about everything. No matter what is going to happen between us at this point… I think we at least need to do that.”   
“I completely agree,” Daphne said with a nod.   
“Good, good,” Tom grinned, a bit relieved. “I will… I will call you, when I get back into town then and we’ll figure something out.”   
“Okay.”   
“If you need anything, when I’m gone, I mean… if you need someone to talk to… or anything…”   
“I will call if I need you, Tom.”   
“Okay. Good, because… I really just want you to be okay. I want the best for you, that’s… that’s all.”   
“I know that,” Daphne smiled sweetly. “You’re a good man, Tom Hiddleston. No matter what anyone says.”   
Tom chuckled. “I can think of at least one who’d probably disagree at this moment.”   
Daphne giggled. “If she hates you, that only makes you better in my opinion.”   
“Easy, I didn’t say she hated me,” Tom laughed. Silence fell on the room once more, but this one wasn’t tense. There was no awkwardness, no animosity. It was comfortable, like it used to be. Tom licked his lips and giggled to himself, his hand rubbing over the back of his neck. “Have I told you how good you look?” he asked with a bit of a gleam to his eye. “I mean… I’ve always thought you were gorgeous but… you’re like… glowing, now. It’s incredible.”   
“And now I’m blushing,” Daphne retorted, turning her eyes away from the man as her cheeks grew hot and pink.   
“You look really good.”   
“Thank you. I feel really good,” Daphne stated. “I feel like my head’s at least mostly clear for the first time in years.”   
“Good. That’s good.”   
“What about you?” Daphne asked a bit mockingly. “All tan and handsome. The beach looks good on you.”   
Tom laughed, a bit embarrassed. “Yeah, yeah. Can’t go playing an army captain while looking like a beanpole I suppose.”   
“I like thick Tom, it works.”   
Tom bowed his head, laughing as his face grew bright red. “Thick Tom? Really? That’s gonna be trending on Twitter now.” They laughed for a bit, stealing glances at each other. “I should go. If I’m late for this flight, I’m kind of screwed.”   
“Yeah, yeah. We wouldn’t want that. Get on outta here.”   
“I’ll call you, soon. I swear.”   
“Okay. And… I’ll be right here when you get back. Probably exactly here because all I do is work anymore,” Daphne stated with a laugh.   
“Well, then not everything has changed,” Tom teased. It was obvious to him (and her) that there was still something there. The coy smiles, the stolen glances. There was still something between them, it was just that neither knew what to do about it. So much had happened. So much had changed. Good, bad, or otherwise, they were different than they were six months ago, and that fact couldn’t be ignored.   
“Okay,” Tom laughed. “I really need to go. My driver is probably wondering what’s taking me so long.”   
“Have a good flight,” Daphne wished him.   
“I will,” he answered with a nod. “I’ll see you. In a few weeks.”   
“Deal.”   
As Tom turned to leave, he was stopped by an enraged red head. This was precisely the situation he wanted to avoid, and yet there she stood, her petite frame practically trembling with anger.   
“Fucking seriously?” Audra growled. “You break up with me not even twelve hours ago and you’re already here making nice with her?”   
Tom closed his eyes and sighed. “We were just talking.”   
“Yeah, I’m sure. It’s the reunion she’s been waiting for,” Audra snapped, shaking her head at Daphne. “You just can’t let him be, can you?”   
“I came to her,” Tom stated. “She had nothing to do with it.”   
“Yeah, well, she didn’t send you away, now did she?”   
“Audra, it’s really none of your business…” Daphne began.   
“Oh, shut up. You finally got what you wanted, alright? You get to make him miserable again.”   
“Stop,” Tom commanded. “You have no idea what you’re talking about so just leave it alone.”  
“I’m not gonna leave it alone,” Audra argued. “Why do you think I didn’t tell you she was back? I knew she was going to do this. I knew she was going to lie and make you feel sorry for her. I knew she would do whatever she needed to do to steal you…”   
“Steal him?” Daphne repeated with a scoff, crossing her arms over her chest. “Honey, believe me, if I was trying to steal him, I wouldn’t have stayed away for an entire month.”   
“Whatever. You were just biding your time…”   
“Will you stop it?” Tom asked, stepping in between the redhead and the source of her anger. “I came here last night and I came here today. She hasn’t done anything.”   
“I don’t know what kind of spell she has over you but if you think she’s changed…”   
A loud laugh from Daphne interrupted Audra’s chain of thought. “Sweetheart, he is a grown man. Tom is perfectly capable of making decisions for himself.”   
“Obviously not if he’s here snuggling up to you again.”   
“Okay, okay, enough. Let’s go,” Tom stated, trying to coax Audra back out the door.   
“I’m not just going to let you take him. You know that, right?”   
“You couldn’t stop me if you tried,” Daphne retorted. “Believe me, if I wanted him back I would have him in a fucking heartbeat.”   
Tom turned to give Daphne a discouraging look. “You aren’t helping.”   
“I’m not trying to,” Daphne stated with a laugh. “I’m sick of laying down for her to run all over. You should be too.”   
“I run all over him?” Audra exclaimed. “Says the girl who used him to cover a drug addiction. Oh, that’s fucking rich. How many nights do you not remember because you were high as a fucking kite? Huh? How many times did you wake up not even fucking knowing who he was or how he got there?”   
“Fuck you,” Daphne dismissed. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”   
“I bet that makes you feel great, huh, Tom? Knowing she was out of her mind every second you were together? Knowing it was all an act…”   
“Knock it off,” Tom growled.   
“No!”   
“What happened between her and I is our business. You know nothing about it,” Tom stated firmly. “And if I choose to go back to it, that is my call to make. Not yours, so just leave it alone.”   
“I can’t believe you don’t see through her!” Audra shrieked. “How can you be so fucking blind?!”   
“You know what, I think we’ll be good without you tonight, Audra. Why don’t you just go on home so you can stew in peace,” Daphne stated.   
“Fuck you.”   
“No, fuck you,” Daphne retorted. “It must really suck to know that someone can steal your man without even trying. You guys must’ve had something real special.”   
Tom held back the petite ginger as she lunged at the woman behind him. “Alright, enough, from both of you,” he scolded loudly, his gaze alternating between the women. The fact that anyone thought the idea of people fighting over them was a pleasurable experience blew his mind. This was the worst feeling in the world. “As far as I can tell I’m not WITH either one of you so this little spat is completely unnecessary. And I can’t say that it’s making either of you look like a good option so just chill the fuck out.”   
Daphne gave in first. “Just get out of here, Audra. You’re done.”   
“You can’t fire me!”   
“The hell I can’t. It’s my restaurant.”   
“I’ll call Joe!”   
“Go right on ahead. If you think I didn’t keep proof of your little… games you’re sadly mistaken.”   
“You’re such a bitch.”   
“I’d rather be a bitch than a rebound.”   
“Whoa!” Tom exclaimed as Audra lunged again. “Okay, we’re done. Let’s go. I’m taking you home.”   
“I don’t fucking need you to take me home, Tom,” Audra stated, jerking herself from the man’s grasp. “Fuck both of you. You deserve each other.”   
As the redhead disappeared, Tom turned back toward Daphne. The look on his face was no longer one of happy memories and adoration. “Are you fucking serious?” he asked. “You just had to push her buttons, huh?”   
“Tom, I’m not going to let her treat me like shit anymore.”   
“I don’t expect you to, but I also don’t expect you to stoop to her level which… you definitely did. You’re better than that.”   
“I’m not sorry,” Daphne stated, shaking her head.   
His head waved back and forth as he stared at the girl. “If this is how you operate now, out of spite, then… maybe I shouldn’t have come.”   
Daphne rolled her eyes, throwing her hands in the hair and dropping them to her sides in a bout of frustration. “I don’t know what you want from me here, Tom. I’m not going to lie down and take shit from the likes of her. I refuse and… if that effects your opinion of me negatively then… so be it, I guess. You just… do whatever it is you feel is right, whether I’m involved or not.”   
Tom’s jaw flexed with tension. “I have a lot to think about.”   
“Then go think,” Daphne commanded. “If she’s the kind of person you want then… this probably wasn’t going to go anywhere anyway.”   
“It’s hard to see much of a difference between the two of you at the moment.”   
“Right. It’s not like I’ve been put through a month of torture. Her trying to break me at every fucking turn. I was totally unprovoked.”   
“That’s not what I’m saying…”   
“That’s what it sounds like,” Daphne interrupted. She took a deep breath and collected her bearings. “I owe you an explanation and… apologies for about a million things, I know that, but I will not apologize for what just happened. I won’t. I don’t owe that girl shit.”   
Tom gulped and shrugged. “So, this is where we leave it? You angry at me, me angry at you. Seems to be the way things work for us.”   
“Then what in the hell would you even have to think about?”   
Tom grimaced, his head waving back and forth. “Nothing.”   
“Alright. Then I’ll see you around.”   
“Sure.” Tom walked out the front door and Daphne wasted no time locking the door behind him. She pulled down the blinds, effectively ending any hope he had that she would let him back in for a more pleasant send off. He stood next to his waiting town car. Maybe this was it. Maybe there was no sense in even attempting to fix things. Perhaps this was the way it was supposed to be. He didn’t know. The only thing he knew for certain is that it didn’t feel good. Not in the least.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ones quite long. Sorry. It got away from me a bit.

He took a deep breath as he walked onto the rooftop garden of Cleary’s downtown hotel. This isn’t exactly where he wanted to be his first day back in London, but it wasn’t every day Stephen threw himself a lavish engagement party. To be perfectly honest, Tom hadn’t even known Stephen was dating anyone, let alone anywhere near marriage, but, Stephen liked his privacy. And now here Tom was, dressed in a bright blue suit, about to walk into a party that either, or both, of his paramours could also be attending.  
“You made it!” Stephen shouted as he nearly skipped toward Tom.  
Tom laughed as the flamboyant man wrapped his arm’s around his shoulders. “You couldn’t have honestly thought I would miss it?”  
“I mean, you had a pretty good excuse. Shooting a movie and all.”  
“Well, luckily for you, I am so good at my job, we got done early,” Tom said with a wink. “Now. Explain to me how I’ve never even met the man you’re going to marry. That seems utterly ludicrous.”  
“Well, let’s fix that,” Stephen beamed. “Ty! Darling! Come here!”  
A brute of a man started toward them. He was taller than Tom, with a complexion the color of hot cocoa. He was quite obviously concealing one hell of a physique under his black tuxedo. Tom was a bit surprised by the man’s stature and grew even more so as he got closer.  
“Tom, this is Tyrone,” Stephen introduced with a proud grin. “Ty, you know Tom.”  
“Of course I do,” came a deep voice as smooth as butter as the man extended a hand toward Tom. “It’s nice to finally officially meet you.”  
“Pleasure is mine,” Tom replied as he shook the man’s hand. “And congratulations!”  
“Thank you,” Tyrone spoke with a perfectly white smile and a nod. “I decided it was about time this one here actually introduces me to people.”  
“Oh stop it, you,” Stephen commanded. “Ty works for Her Majesty so we kept things quite under wraps for a long time.”  
“Obviously!” Tom laughed loudly. “No offense but I didn’t even knew you existed!”  
“I’m not surprised,” Tyrone said with a roll of his almost black eyes. “If you’ll excuse me, I should rejoin my family. They’re not used to such… extravagance.”  
“It was nice meeting you,” Tom stated. “I’m sure we’ll see much more of each other now.”  
“I hope so.” Tyrone smiled and gave his fiancé’s shoulder a squeeze before heading back to the group he’d left behind.  
“Tell me again why you would hide that?” Tom asked with a chuckle.  
“Well, he’s no Idris but he’ll do,” Stephen responded with a wink. “How was Vietnam?”  
“Gorgeous. It’s an incredible place,” Tom answered. “Nice to be home for a few days though.”  
“You spoken to Daphne?”  
Tom heaved a heavy sigh. “Not yet. I’m afraid we didn’t leave things on a very positive note.”  
“I heard.”  
“I’m sure.”  
“How about Audra?”  
Tom’s head began to slowly wave back and forth. “Not a word. I think it’s safe to say that’s all well and done.”  
“Can’t say I’m disappointed.”  
“Honestly? Me either,” Tom said. He chuckled and shook his head again. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I knew from the get go it wouldn’t work. I shouldn’t have drug it out.”  
“She can be a sweet girl. But… she’s young and it shows.”  
“That it does.”  
“Plus I can’t say I was real fond of her with her treatment of Daphne.”  
“No, me either,” Tom stated, hanging his head to look at his shiny black dress shoes. “I imagine I don’t even know the half of it.”  
“I’m sure you don’t,” Stephen sighed. Stephen watched as Tom’s blue eyes began to search the rooftop for Daphne’s presence. He smiled. “She came back for you, ya know.”  
“What?” Tom asked with a chuckle.  
“Daphne. She wouldn’t have come back, especially with how she left, if she didn’t want to fix things with you.”  
“Yes, well, it’d be nice to hear her say that.”  
“You know that’s not easy for her. She’s spent her whole life being this… emotionless, infallible rock. It’s hard for her to pull herself out of it.”  
“I know,” Tom stated, “but for a relationship to succeed there has to be a certain level of vulnerability. I can’t be the only one feeling things.”  
“You’re not. I promise.”  
Tom sighed and once again glanced to his shoes. “I don’t know what to do,” he stated softly. “My feelings for her are… obviously still there, I just… I don’t trust her right now and… I’m not sure if I ever fully will.”  
“Talk to her, Tom. Tell her that. Tell her your concerns and give her a chance to at least try to fix it. It’s not going to be easy, for either of you, but you love her.”  
“Of course, I do. I probably always will.”  
“Then could you live with yourself if you didn’t give it a true, fair shot?”  
Tom shoulders lifted and fell with the weight of the world. “I don’t know.”  
“Think about it. In the meantime, she could probably use some company…”  
Tom watched as Stephen nodded in front of the duo. Across the roof, surrounded by Stephen’s drag friends, he finally spotted Daphne. His heart skipped a beat, maybe two, as he gazed upon her. A white, form fitting dress, speckled with coral flowers hung off her tanned shoulders. Her locks were swept up to the top of her head in some fancy, wispy sort of bun thing, a few stray hands framing her face. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. The sparkling smile peaking between her slightly coral tinted lips, the glow on her cheeks, the glimmer of her eyes, it could’ve been any number of things. Just as he thought he had probably better turn away before he was caught staring, she turned her head toward him. At first the look on her face was one of surprise, but in a matter of milliseconds it morphed into a kind, warm smile. Tom blushed and smiled in return before his eyes drifted to the black and white tile of the rooftop floor.  
“Look at you turning all sorts of red,” Stephen observed with a boisterous laugh. “You gonna be alright, sport?”  
Tom laughed and shook his head. “I… I don’t know. She gets to me. Always has.”  
“Hm. Wonder why that is?” Stephen said sarcastically as he delivered a playful nudge to Tom’s forearm.  
Tom rolled his eyes. “I know why it is, thank you,” he retorted a bit snidely.  
“You should probably stop staring and get over there.”  
“Would you shut up?” Tom asked with a laugh. “I’m going.”  
“Go on. Get. I don’t want to talk to you anymore anyway.”  
“You’re terrible. You know that right?” Tom asked with a laugh as he headed away from a still chuckling Stephen. She was maybe only twelve feet away, but time seem to slow down as he moved toward the girl. He felt his breath catch in his chest and there was an unmistakable grin on both of their faces.  
“Sorry to interrupt,” Tom stated as he arrived at the group Daphne stood in.  
“Well look who’s here,” one of the men stated. “It’s the birthday boy.”  
Tom chuckled brightly. “I take it you were there.”  
“I was your Britney,” the man said with a wink.  
Tom shook his head and nodded. “I hardly recognized you.”  
“I’m not surprised.”  
Tom’s attention quickly turned to the woman in front of him. “Hi,” he said softly.  
“Hello,” Daphne beamed. Either party barely noticed as the group quickly dispersed. “I didn’t know you were back.”  
“I got in late last night… well… early this morning,” Tom said, stammering a bit.  
“And you still made it?”  
“Couldn’t hardly pass it up,” Tom answered. “Not every day you get to party on a rooftop in London.”  
“Something tells me this isn’t your first rooftop event,” Daphne teased.  
Tom closed one eye and thought a moment. “You’re probably not wrong…” he stated with a chuckle. This was awkward. Not in a bad or uncomfortable way. But neither of them really knew what to say. Their last interaction hadn’t exactly been pleasant, and it was weighing heavily on both of their minds, yet neither of them knew exactly what to say. “This is… weird…”  
Daphne laughed. “Yeah, a little bit.”  
“Look, I’m sorry,” Tom apologized. “I should’ve done a better job at diffusing the situation and…”  
“No, Tom, no,” Daphne argued. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. I acted… like a jerk. I’m not proud of anything I said that day. I just… I got pushed too far and I let it get the best of me.”  
“Well, that’s understandable. She wasn’t exactly kind to you.”  
“No but…” Daphne paused and picked at the label of the mineral water in her hand. “She was scared. Which, I completely understand. It’s one of my… most familiar emotions,” she stated with a laugh. “We talked about it. I think we’re cool now. At least… civil anyway.”  
Tom cocked an equally confused and shocked eyebrow. “Wait. You two talked about it? Like you and… Audra had a conversation… without killing each other?”  
“That seems to be everyone’s reaction,” Daphne chuckled. “Yeah, we did. Like I said, I felt awful and that doesn’t sit well with me anymore. I went to the hotel and… we talked. I mean, I’m like ten years older than her. I should know better.”  
“Well, she’s not a child,” Tom laughed. “She should too.”  
“She does. She apologized too,” Daphne stated. “She was scared, Tom. She was threatened by… me coming back. Apparently… you didn’t exactly hide the fact that you were still a little hung up …and… she freaked out. It’s at least a bit understandable.”  
Tom’s head waved back and forth. “I don’t… who am I even talking to right now?” he asked with a laugh. “When did you get so old and wise?”  
Daphne laughed. “Probably when I stopped living my life comatose.”  
Tom’s eyebrows rose, and he shook his head again. “I have to say… I am impressed right now. By both of you, honestly.”  
“You should talk to her, Tom,” Daphne stated. She breathed deeply through her nostrils. “That probably sounds insane but… I really think you should.”  
“You’re probably not wrong.”  
“I mean, you can’t blame a girl for being scared to lose you.”  
Tom blushed at the sight of Daphne’s smirk. “Stop. You’re too kind. I’ll um… I’ll get in touch with her before I leave. I probably owe her a conversation or two anyway.”  
“Good.”  
A silence once again fell between the duo. Tom shook his head. “I don’t get it. What’s going on?” he asked aloud.  
“What d’ya mean?” Daphne asked with a giggle.  
“We’ve have NEVER had problems talking to each other,” Tom stated. “The first day we met we talked for HOURS and now… we just stare and giggle and… I don’t understand it.”  
“There’s a lot that needs to be said that isn’t fun to say,” Daphne stated. “And is certainly not appropriate for public conversation. So, it’s a bit awkward. It probably will be until we get things settled.”  
“I’m sure you’re right,” Tom stated. “But… how about instead of awkwardness, we… try to enjoy each other’s company this evening. We used to be quite good at that.”  
Daphne’s smile would’ve lit up a darkened room. And despite the bright sunlight, it still radiated a warmth Tom had long missed. “I would really like that.”  
“Good. Good, me too,” Tom beamed. “So… obviously, dancing is a must…”  
Daphne’s lips tightened, and a single eyebrow arched. “I’m not sure sober Daphne really knows much about dancing…”  
“Oh, well, she’s going to learn tonight.” 

There was not one awkward moment for the rest of the evening. It was all laughs and dances and stories and stolen embraces. It was perfect. It made everything, every good memory the two had shared in their months together come rushing back to the forefront of Tom’s mind. And though he never had a complaint about their time in the past, this new night, this new memory was somehow better. Maybe it was because he knew every second of this night had been genuine. She wasn’t drinking, there wasn’t the later revelation that she had been on pills the entire time, it was all real.  
And it was just as real for him. He’d had a drink or two, but he’d mostly stuck to water as well. He felt a bit guilty otherwise, though Daphne assured him she was fine. Still, if she had a clear head that night, he would too.  
“Tonight was so much fun,” Tom said, wrapping his arms around Stephen as the man and his fiancé saw their guests out. “Seriously. Fantastic.”  
“Good, I’m glad. You two looked like you were having fun.”  
“We did,” Tom said, delivering a wink back at Daphne.  
“So, Daph…” Stephen began, almost pushing Tom out of the way. “I have… a bit of a favor to ask you.”  
“Oh God, what?” Daphne asked with a laugh.  
“Six weeks… we leave for the wedding. You know nothing big, the Greek Isles. A yacht for a week, you know, nothing fancy,” Stephen said with a shrug. “But I do need a maid of honor.”  
Daphne’s eyes widened as she stared at the man before her. “What?”  
“Please? There’s no one else I want beside me.”  
“Oh my God! Of course!” Daphne exclaimed, throwing her arms around Stephen’s neck. “Are you serious?”  
“Of course, I am, silly girl,” Stephen laughed, embracing her tightly. “It’ll be small. Just you and Ty’s brother. And like thirty guests. It’ll be fantastic.”  
“Oh my God. Stephen. I can’t wait,” Daphne said with the biggest grin either party had seen on her face in a long time. There were even tears glimmering in her dark eyes.  
“And you,” Stephen said, pointing in Tom’s direction. “You’re her date, so you better be here.”  
Tom chuckled. “I would think she’d better ask me first.”  
“No. It’s my wedding. I want you there. So…”  
“I’ll be there. I leave for Detroit in… two days, there five weeks… yeah. Yeah I should be around.”  
“You’d better be around. I need to add Tom Hiddleston dancing on a yacht to my collection of colorful memories.”  
“I will do my damnedest,” Tom stated. “I swear it.”  
“Good. Good. Now see that she gets home safely, would you? Can’t have my maid of honor running off before the wedding.” Stephen stopped immediately upon realizing what he had said. “Oh goodness. That is not what I meant.”  
Daphne smiled sweetly. “It’s okay.”  
“I chose the wrong words. My god.”  
“Stephen, it’s fine,” Daphne responded. “Seriously, it’s a fair statement regardless.”  
“You know I would never throw that in your face. I’m sorry, my love,” Stephen apologized, wrapping his arms tightly around the girl and giving her a squeeze. He placed his lips on her head and looked back to Tom. “Just get her home safely, would you?”  
“I shall,” Tom grinned.  
“Good. Goodnight my loves. Thank you for being here.”  
“There’s nowhere else I’d be,” Tom stated as Daphne gave Stephen a kiss. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as the girl took to his side and they headed for the stairs to the elevator.  
“Tonight was great,” Tom stated, glancing toward the girl.  
“Yeah…” Daphne stated, her eyes glued to her phone. She glanced up to find the man staring at her. “Sorry, I’m not trying to be rude, just… trying to book an Uber… which seems to be impossible right now…”  
“Stop it. I’ll take you home.”  
“Don’t you live in Brighton now?”  
“I’m staying here for a few days. I’ve got the car, it’s fine.”  
“Its still on the opposite side of town.”  
“Daphne, it’s fine,” Tom insisted, placing his hand on hers and quite literally pushing her phone down.  
Daphne sighed as his eyes practically stared a hole right through her. “Always the gentleman.”  
“I gave Stephen my word.”  
“Fine. I’ll secede. You may give me a ride home.”  
“Good. God, who argues about riding in a Jaguar anyway?”  
“Shut up.” 

Tom being the gentleman that he was, refused to even let Daphne simply get out of the car and go inside. Instead, he insisted and walking her to the door. The second he set foot in the lobby, he heard a familiar greeting.  
“Mr. Tom!”  
“Hey Quincy!” Tom exclaimed happily. “How ya been?”  
“I been good! Real good!” Quincy answered. “I been wondering when we’d see you round here again! Miss Daphne been back awhile now, I was getting worried.”  
“Well no need to worry,” Tom insisted. “I have returned.”  
“Good, good. I’m mighty happy to see you.”  
“You too, sir,” Tom grinned, shaking the man’s hand.  
“You two look so good together. Be a shame if you weren’t.”  
Tom chuckled and nervously fastened the bottom button of his suit jacket. “Yes, well, I’m afraid that’s mostly her. I mean… look at her. She’s stunning.”  
Quincy nodded as Daphne’s cheeks flushed bright pink. “She is a beaut, that’s for sure.”  
“Alright, you two, enough,” Daphne laughed. “We’ll see you later, Quincy.”  
“Yes ma’am. Have a good evening.”  
Daphne and Tom headed for the elevator and in a few minutes were in front of the same door they’d said goodnight in front of a million times before.  
The toe of Daphne’s nude color pump brushed across the dark carpet nervously. “Well, I’d invite you in for a drink, but… I don’t have those anymore. There’s probably some spoiled apple juice or something.”  
Tom laughed. “As tempting as that may be…”  
“I’ve got coffee.”  
“I could go for coffee,” Tom said with a grin.  
“Me too.” Daphne turned and unlocked the door.  
Tom walked in and was knocked back a moment. Every time he had been there before he’d marveled at how empty the place was. It barely looked as if anyone actually lived there. But now… now it was a home. Books on shelves, pictures on the walls, little knick knacks and trinkets littering shelves and tables. He was amazed. “Wow…”  
Daphne looked at him then around, trying to figure out what the man was staring at. “What?”  
“Nothing, I just… It actually looks as though you live here, instead of just saying until the next mission presents itself.”  
Daphne chuckled. “Well, that is kind of the point, I suppose.”  
“I just… I didn’t expect it. It was always so empty before.”  
“Yes, well, it fit,” Daphne stated. She kicked off her heels near the door and headed into the kitchen to put on a kettle. She dug through a cupboard to find coffee beans and her grinder, all while Tom watched in awe. It was funny how something like stocked cupboards brought him reassurance.  
He sighed as he sat at a stool on the opposite side of the counter. “So… it appears as if you truly are planning on staying.”  
Daphne sighed, her shoulders lifting to her dangling earrings. “I plan to. I suppose things could always change but… London is the last place I remember feeling like home. Like, truly feeling like I belonged where I was… I suppose… that had a lot to do with you.”  
Tom chuckled. “I think you’re giving me too much credit.”  
“No, Tom, I’m not,” Daphne argued. “I know… that I never really said it and I should’ve, but you… You made me feel safe and that’s not a feeling I was used to. And it scared me because… I had all of these deep dark secrets. I was the reason I wasn’t safe and I wasn’t safe for you. And I tortured myself over it. Everything… negative, every fear, every… miscommunication, I take full credit for that. I wasn’t honest with you and… in my own… twisted, sick way I guess I wanted to protect you. Protect you from what I truly was, protect you from the… darkness that lived in this messed up brain of mine…”  
“Daph…”  
“No. Just… listen…” Daphne pleaded. She closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m sure you thought, or still do, a million and a half negative things about me and you have every right. But I can tell you with… one hundred percent certainty, that everything I felt about you, every moment we shared, they were the most genuine minutes of my life. When I was with you… I was happy, for the first time in a long time, I was truly happy and… there were nights when I didn’t take anything. I didn’t want to… cloud what I had with you. I was safe and I was calm and that was all I needed. You being here, you being beside me probably saved me more times than I can even count because, believe me, when I was alone it got… rough in here. You were the light... But that’s not a fair pressure to have put on you. I couldn’t count on someone else to quiet the voices in my head. I had to learn to do it myself and… I realize leaving in the dark of the night without a word was NOT the way I should have done things, but I didn’t know how. I couldn’t bear the thought of looking into your eyes and disappointing you another time. I couldn’t do it and I was selfish and terrible because it was easier for me. And I will never stop being sorry for that. Never.”  
Tom swallowed, a ball of emotion built up in his throat. He sniffed and shook his head as he pulled off his suit jacket, laying it on the stool next to him. He hadn’t planned on having the big talk at this very moment, but, it was probably time to get it out of the way. “I don’t hate you for leaving,” he stated softly. “I don’t hate you at all, I could never. And I do… sort of, at least, understand why you did things the way you did. I don’t like it and it’s likely that I never will, but I do understand. I put an unfair pressure on you as well, Daphne. I know that now. I didn’t see it then, but… I don’t know. I was so captivated by you that I rushed blindly into things, again, as I tend to do. Audra is even evidence of that, but I know now that… I wasn’t even ready for what I was trying to… coerce or whatever, you into. I thought that if I was with someone else that all the previous disappointment and pain would just melt away and… I was wrong. I was wrong for how I treated you at times and I was wrong for not listening when you tried to stall me. It wasn’t fair… and I apologize, truly.”  
Daphne smiled sweetly. “I said a lot of things to push you away, but I wasn’t exactly acting on them.”  
Tom laughed. “No, you indeed were not. We were both guilty of that I suppose.”  
“We definitely were.”  
Tom licked his lips, rolling them over his teeth before looking up at the girl. “What do you want?”  
“What do you mean?” Daphne asked as the kettle of water on the stove began to whistle.  
“From… us, I suppose. From me.”  
Daphne took a deep breath and her eyes widened as her cheeks puffed out. “That’s a loaded question, there, Hiddleston.”  
“I know,” Tom chuckled. “But… I think it’s one we both need to answer.”  
“I know.” Daphne poured the water into the French press before her as she attempted to gather her response. “In a perfect world, we’d go back to what we were, I suppose. Well, not exactly what we were, obviously, but…” She paused as Tom snickered a bit. “I am fucking awful at this.”  
“It’s okay,” Tom reassured. “This isn’t exactly an easy topic.”  
Daphne took another breath before lifting her eyes and looking into the man’s intensely. “I love you, Tom. And I will never not love you. Do I want another shot? Do I want the chance to make all of this nonsense mean something? Absolutely. But I also know that’s not really my decision right now. Anything that were to happen between us, whether that’s… friendship or more or absolutely nothing, that is your call to make. But… I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to try.”  
It was Tom’s turn for a loud, deep inhalation. He ran his fingers through his hair and swiveled on his stool, as nervous as a young schoolboy. “I don’t know what to say…”  
“That’s not a good sign,” Daphne chuckled.  
“No, no, Daphne, no,” Tom argued. He gulped, looking to his hands as they fiddled together on the counter. “It’s not that I don’t want that. I do, I really do. I would give anything to simply forget everything and just… be what I thought we were supposed to be, but… it’s not really that easy for me. I wish it were…”  
“I know…”  
“I look at you now and I see… a woman even more… beautiful, more perfect than the girl I knew before and believe me, I had a hard time finding faults in the first place, but… I cannot pretend that the past didn’t happen. I want to. I want to just forget it all, but…” His voice trailed off and he cleared his throat before he began again. “I don’t trust you. And that sounds terrible and horrid and I can’t believe I even just said it, but… it’s the honest to God truth. And it’s not… that I don’t trust your words or your intentions or… I have this never ending fear that the next time I come to find you, you won’t be here. And that’s not… that’s not a way to live. That wouldn’t be fair to either of us. Me constantly questioning you and you having to defend every move you make… it would be miserable.”  
Daphne gulped as she silently moved a mug toward Tom. “It would.”  
Tom looked at her. There was a distinct sadness in her eyes and he instantly felt guilty. “I’m sorry…”  
“No, no, you have nothing to be sorry for. That’s… a perfectly rational thing to think.”  
“I don’t want to think like that!” Tom exclaimed. “I really don’t.”  
“Tom, I get it. It’s fine,” Daphne stated. “It’s just… the only way I can prove to you that I’m not going anywhere is… by not… going anywhere so… I guess I really don’t know how to get passed that.”  
“I don’t either,” Tom mumbled before taking a sip. “Regardless… of what happens, from here on out, I do owe you a… lifelong gratitude, I guess one would say.”  
“For what?” Daphne asked with a scoff.  
“For… bringing me back to life,” Tom stated. “I was… a shell when we met and… you brought back my spirit, my smile. It wasn’t that I was still hung up on… Taylor, at all, it wasn’t that but I was still dealing with… everything that happened after it all unraveled and the... unwanted publicity of it all. It was hard for me and I retreated into this... absence I suppose, this self constructed wall of supposed safety… but you... you made me wake up. You… I don’t know. You pulled me out of my own darkness, so to speak, and I will always be eternally grateful for that.”  
Daphne smiled coyly, shifting back and forth. “Well… I’m glad at least one good thing came out of my insanity.”  
“Stop. Plenty of good things happened with us. Plenty.”  
“You know my favorite?”  
“What’s that?” Tom asked with a smile, crossing one leg over the other.  
“When I was sick,” Daphne stated. “You just… moved in for like ten days and… it was perfect. I legitimately thought I was dying but… I would’ve died happy.”  
“Someone needed to take care of you and I am… glad I could do so.”  
“I didn’t take anything, well, aside from the prescriptions, that whole… week and a half. I was just… happy,” she laughed. She paused, her face contorting a bit with an air of concern. “I, um, I need you to know that I never… took anything to… be high… or enhance any sort of experience or anything of the sort, it was to remain… centered. To be silent, to try to be even keel. It wasn’t like a trip or… an enjoyable experience. It made me numb if nothing else.”  
Tom nodded. “I understand… well, I mean, I don’t, but I do.” He gulped. “You’re good though, now, right? You’re… all… clean?”  
Daphne nodded. “Yessir. What… about… eight months now?”  
“That’s… that’s big. That’s pretty incredible.”  
Daphne shrugged. “Some days are easier than others. I’m sure I’ll always have that voice in my head yearning for… things… I just had to teach myself to ignore it. Put myself into other things.”  
“Like what?”  
“Well, food, for starters,” Daphne stated, patting her stomach. “I gained like twenty pounds.”  
“Stop. You look incredible,” Tom insisted. “Seriously. You’re more gorgeous now than before which I didn’t even know was possible.”  
Daphne’s cheeks flushed. “You have to say that. You’re sitting right in front of me.”  
“I am being one hundred percent truthful,” Tom laughed. “I am, truly. I was dumbfounded when I saw you this evening. You had to have noticed.”  
“Okay, anyway…” Daphne laughed.  
Tom snickered and looked at his watch. “Ugh. I suppose I should be going. I have… family plans tomorrow that I should likely be… awake for.”  
Daphne nodded. “And I’m exhausted so… I should…” She moved her head toward the bedroom door.  
Tom licked his lips and just stared for a minute. “You work tomorrow?”  
Daphne shook her head. “No. Nope. I gave myself the weekend off.”  
“Really?”  
“Yup.”  
“Well, that’s new too,” Tom teased. “How about… dinner? Tomorrow night. Eight or so?”  
“Sure,” Daphne stated with a smile and a nod. “I’d like that.”  
“Me, too,” Tom grinned. He rose from his stool and met the girl at the end of the counter. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he embraced her, tightly, for the first time in a long time. He just stayed there for a while, enjoying the stillness of the moment, the familiarity of it all. “I’ll call you tomorrow then and we’ll figure out a more solid plan.”  
“Perfect,” Daphne smiled.  
“Good,” Tom grinned as they headed for the door. “Sleep well, then, yeah?”  
“You too.”  
“I will. I definitely will,” Tom stated. He pressed a kiss into her cheek. It lasted a bit longer than he anticipated and he was desperately fighting the urge to move his lips to hers. He wasn’t sure that desire would ever go away. Nor would the butterflies fluttering about his stomach in the moment, but he didn’t want to push and he certainly didn’t want to give her any false hope if there was none there. “Goodnight.”  
“Night.”  
Tom’s chest rose as the door closed. He heard the deadbolt click into place and he smiled. He felt really good about their talk. Things obviously were still up in the air, but… he felt at ease about it all. The only thing dangling in his mind was the unacted upon desire to kiss her again, and he could live with that for the time being. Just as he headed back toward the elevator, though, he heard a call.  
“Tom!”  
“Yeah?” he asked, jogging back toward the girl as she appeared in the doorway. Maybe she’d had the same thought. Maybe she didn’t want to leave things quite yet either… but those thoughts washed away as she held out his jacket.  
“You might want this,” Daphne stated with a grin.  
“You… are correct,” Tom said with a laugh, taking the bright blue blazer from her hand. “Thank you, my darling. I’m afraid I temporarily lost my bearings.”  
“You are a bit flighty.”  
“It’s that dress, I assure you,” he stated with a smirk and wink.  
“Get out of here.”  
“I’m going,” he stated with a chuckle, backing his way down the hallway. “Goodnight.”  
“Goodnight.” This time Daphne watched him get on the elevator. He gave her a bit of a wave as the doors closed and he disappeared. She sighed, contentedly as she went back into her apartment. The door might have not been wide open, but it was definitely ajar and that was enough for her at the moment.


	16. Chapter 16

Tom took a deep breath as he climbed out of his sleek, black Jaguar. It was a beautiful September day. The warmth of this summer was still hanging on though the crispness of autumn was attempting to force it out and the sun was shining brightly. He had an eventful day planned, lunch with friends, dinner with his mother, then drinks and laughs with Stephen, Ty and of course, Daphne. Luckily, he’d gotten a full eight hours the night before, because it was going to be a long one, though, well worth being a bit sleepy on his flight the next morning.  
He’d been home two days and they’d been absolutely spectacular. Loads of family time and every night, he was with Daphne. His first night back was the engagement party, the next night they went to dinner and walked around the city, and last night they’d had a quiet night at her place, pizza and movies, reminiscing and giggles. It felt as if he was getting to know a completely different woman, but yet so much was the same. It was everything it was supposed to be: butterflies, smiles, a constant barrage of texts and calls. She was at the forefront of his brain every second of the day and he wouldn’t have it any other way. It was a perfect new start and he was happy. They both were.  
But this day? This morning, rather, a different woman had a slot on his calendar and hesitant didn’t even begin to describe his current state of being.  
“Hey,” he greeted with a heavy sigh, pulling the Raybans from his face and clipping them on to the neck of his Tshirt as he approached the waiting redhead.  
Audra’s smile was a bit tense, a bit forced, just as Tom’s was. “Hi,” she responded as she rose to greet him. They did the awkward dance of arms attempting to hug, then changing their mind, but eventually a quick, friendly embrace won out. It lasted all of two seconds before they parted and took their respective seats.  
“You… look… great…” Audra stated as she sank back into the cushy black chair on her side of the table. “How was… the Philippines?”  
“Um… it was Vietnam, actually, but… it was great,” Tom answered. “It was beautiful and fun. A lot of work. A lot of rain… but it was… amazing.”  
“Good.”  
“Yeah, yeah… it was good,” Tom nodded. Audra had ordered him a coffee before he arrived: black, two sugars. He was honestly flattered that she remembered. “So… um…”  
“Yeah, this is really weird.”  
Tom laughed brightly. “Oh, it’s not just me then?”  
“No. Nope, not at all.”  
“Good, good,” Tom smiled. “I’m sorry. I just… I honestly don’t even know what to say.”  
“Me either,” Audra sighed, stirring the cream into her coffee.  
“Well, great! This was a fun meeting, huh?” Tom scoffed and shook his head. He took a sip from the paper cup before he began again. This time his demeanor was more stoic, somber. “Look, I owe you an apology.”  
“Tom, no…”  
“No, I really do,” Tom interrupted. “I should’ve… I should’ve never let us happen. I wasn’t ready and, though I didn’t want to admit that, I knew it, and that wasn’t fair to you. You… deserve someone who’s… all in and there and present and I couldn’t be that. I should’ve… not let things go as far as they did.”  
“Tom, it’s fine,” Audra assured. “I knew you were still hung up on her and… I still pursued you. I mean, I saw you guys together. I saw the way you looked at her. I knew what I was getting into the night we met.”  
“I was that obvious, huh?”  
“Yeah, you were,” Audra laughed. “And… to be honest, I maybe used your… vulnerability to my advantage. And that’s not cool. I just… I thought maybe I could… get you over her? I don’t know. Help you move on. I guess I don’t know. That sounds ridiculous.”  
“No. No it’s not ridiculous. I… appreciate the effort, actually,” Tom said with a chuckle. He scratched his fingers over the curls atop his head, just as he always did when he was uncomfortable. “I’m just… I’m sorry you got drug into this mess.”  
“Eh. I kind of threw myself into it,” Audra sighed. She gulped and then turned her shoulder toward him, digging into the large purse hanging on the back of her chair. When she turned back to face him, she had a crinkled, but familiar envelope in her hand. “Here. This is yours.”  
Tom’s eyes widened, looking from the cream-colored envelope to the girl’s eyes in front of him and then back to the envelope again. “Is that… I thought you…”  
“I know, I know,” Audra said with a bit of a whine. “I was going to. And then I felt guilty and then I was going to burn it and then I felt bad again and I… I never did anything. I always kind of meant to just… sneak it right back onto the table and convince you that you just misplaced it…”  
Audra’s explanation trailed off and her bright eyes floated to the ceiling. She was fending off tears and Tom knew it, and it broke his heart a bit. Despite the fact that romantically, they never would have worked. He still cared about her. She still meant something to him and she really did help him heal, a bit anyway.  
“I’m sorry,” the girl apologized, looking back to him, tears in the corners of her glistening eyes. Her voice was clouded and a bit sad. “I had no right. Absolutely none. It was wrong and immature and… sneaky and terrible and… I’m sorry.”  
Tom nodded, a comforting smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Apology accepted,” he assured, reaching across the table and resting his hand on hers. “It’s okay. Truly.”  
“You should read it.”  
“Have… have you?”  
“No, God no. I didn’t open it. I’m not that fucked up,” Audra answered. “It’s just… she and I sort of talked about it and… I don’t know. I know you’re confused right now. Maybe it’ll help you… get things figured out.”  
Tom took a deep breath, his scruffy, tanned cheeks inflating with air and then flattening as he exhaled. “Seems… it might be a bit late, for all that now, doesn’t it?”  
“You still care about her, don’t you?”  
“Of course. There’s no question there.”  
“But you don’t know what you should do…”  
Tom scoffed. “It’s like you can read my mind.”  
Audra smiled sweetly. “You’ve always been pretty transparent, Hiddleston. You’re not exactly a closed book.”  
“No,” Tom laughed with a wave of his head. “No, I’m really not.”  
“She loves you. She really does and… maybe this letter will give you some answers. Answers that she’s probably having a hard time saying out loud.”  
Tom laughed again before taking a drink. “Maybe.”  
“Look, you love her. And she… she loves you more than I probably ever could. More than anyone probably ever could and… though it pissed me off, it took a lot of balls for her to come back here. She could’ve just stayed away. Started a new life, pretended like nothing ever happened. But she didn’t. She came back and… I’m about ninety eight percent sure she came back for you. She didn’t say that. I think she was trying to be more… subtle about it with me, but… come on…”  
Tom bit onto his lip, nervously pulling away bits of skin. “There’s a lot… a lot of talking that needs to happen. We started. We’ve been hanging out but… I don’t know.”  
“Then you definitely need to read it.”  
Slowly but surely, Tom’s head began to nod. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”  
“That a boy,” Audra beamed with a wink. She glanced at her watch and sighed. “Alright, I’ve gotta get going. My flight leaves in about an hour.”  
“Where you headed?”  
“The States. Back to Dallas. I need… to re-center. I need to figure out what I wanna do with my life because it damn sure ain’t being a waitress.”  
“You’re meant for more than that,” Tom grinned.  
“I know. I just gotta figure out exactly what that is.”  
“You got plenty of time.”  
“I know I do, ya cradle robber.”  
Tom laughed as he rose to his feet and embraced the girl. This time it was stronger, tighter, longer. He really meant it. “If you need anything, anything at all…”  
“I know, I know, I got your number,” Audra smiled as he planted a peck on her cheek. “Read your letter. Go talk to your girl. She’s… she’s messed up but she’s really not that bad.”  
Tom blew a chuckle through his nose. “No. No, she’s really not.”  
“It was fun while it lasted, Hiddleston.”  
“That it was, Driver.”  
“Bye.”  
“Bye.”  
Tom took a deep breath and watched as the girl headed through the gate and out onto the street. She glanced over her shoulder and they waved, and then she was gone. His eyes then fell onto the four-month-old, still sealed letter sitting on the table next to his coffee. He wasn’t sure why, but he was nervous. But he knew it was finally time.

“Every goddamn time!” Daphne exclaimed, bursting out of her bedroom in a sports bra and tiny spandex shorts. Her black socks slid across the hardwood floor as if she was in Risky Business and she nearly lost her balance as she darted toward the door that was currently being beaten into submission. She had been attempting to squeeze in a workout before she readied herself for the evening’s events, but apparently whomever was on the other side of her large, grey front door had other plans.  
She’d gotten really into yoga while at the ‘retreat.’ That was what they called it so the celebrity addicts didn’t have to say that they were, in fact, real humans with real problems. She’d even taken up running, much like the handsome British apple of her eye. She had to do something, after all, aside from numerous different therapy sessions, she really had nothing but time and honestly, it was a good way to wile away the hours.  
She was surprised, albeit pleasantly, to find that British apple on the other side of the door. “Am I…” She stumbled back a bit to peer at the clock above her fireplace. “I thought we were meeting at eight. You… were going to dinner with your family…”  
“We are… I am…” Tom said with an embarrassed smirk as he tried to prevent himself from staring too hard. “Sorry. I should’ve called.”  
“It’s fine,” Daphne grinned, watching as the man’s eyes sank to the floor beneath his feet. His hand rubbing the back of his neck and she knew he was taken aback by her current wardrobe. “What’s up, goof?” she asked with a laugh. “Why are you being so weird?”  
“I don’t… well… you’re not exactly fully clothed right now and I feel a bit like a creep,” Tom stated, making sure he looked her directly in the eye and nowhere else before his eyes hit the carpet hallway once more.  
Daphne rolled her lips over her teeth, trying to stifle the laughter building in her gut. “Tom, bub, you’ve seen me in far less than this.”  
“Not in a… long, LONG time.” Tom immediately regretted the tone of the last ‘long.’ It sounded a bit… forward, a bit… thirsty as the kid’s were saying.  
Daphne let her laughter loose and shook her head. “Are you going to come in or are you just gonna stand there, blushing like a kid who just saw his first pair of tits?”  
Tom instantly broke into laughter. “Is that what this feeling is? It’s been so long, I nearly forgot.”  
“You are pretty old,” Daphne teased with a wink as Tom finally entered the apartment, closing the front door tightly behind him.  
“That’s… cute, thank you…”  
“I’m just kidding,” Daphne groaned, grabbing a sweatshirt from the back of her sofa.  
Tom was fighting to keep his eyes from roaming too much, but as Daphne lifted her arms above her head to put on her sweatshirt, he saw a new… decoration on her ribcage, just below the band of her purple sports bra. It was a paragraph of scrawling script, about four inches by three, and the harder he looked, the more he realized it wasn’t a paragraph, but a stanza. A stanza he knew very, very well.  
“Wait.” He took a couple steps toward the girl and placed his hand on her forearm, stopping her from covering herself up. “Is that… that’s Hamlet.”  
A coy grin stretched its way across Daphne’s face. “Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt that I love.”  
Tom instantly felt his heart began to thump hard against his chest. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but… “When did you get that?”  
“Mm… like… the second day I was in the sober house,” Daphne answered. She stared at a silent Tom, his blue eyes glistening as if he was fighting off tears. “You hate it?”  
“No,” Tom refused, his voice cracking a bit as he waved his head. “It’s… it’s beautiful. It’s… one of my very favorite lines… I just finished the play before we…”  
“I know, Thomas. Why do you think I got it?”  
His eyes finally flitted back to hers. He gulped. “You… you got it for me?”  
Daphne finally got her shirt on and shrugged. “I mean… yeah…”  
“I, um… I don’t know what to say…” Tom stammered, his cheeks flushing bright fuchsia.  
“You don’t have to say anything,” Daphne assured with a laugh. “I just… I wanted to do something that… meant something to you, that reminded me of you, so that…” She took a deep breath. “So that no matter what happened when I got back, you were always with me. Because… you saved me. You really did and… I don’t know. I thought I might need a reminder when things got rough.”  
A single tear rolled from Tom’s eye as he grinned and shook his head. He immediately wiped it away and looked at the woman before him. “That’s… that’s the fucking sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” he said with a laugh. “I… wow…”  
“Sorry… it probably seems a little… stalker-y.”  
“Babe, no,” Tom said with a wave of his head as he reached for her hand. “It’s amazing. And I love it.”  
“Good,” Daphne grinned as her cheeks copied Tom’s color from earlier. “I got it the same day as… I wrote… the letter.”  
“Speaking of,” Tom began as he reached into his back pocket, bringing for the envelope.  
Daphne’s eyes widened in shock. “You… you have it… how?”  
“She kept it. She, I guess, wavered back and forth on whether she was going to return it or destroy it in a fire and… she brought it today.”  
“Did you read it?” she asked a bit nervously.  
Tom chuckled. “About six times. The first time, I was too busy crying to retain much and I looked like a complete loon sobbing alone in my car…”  
He stopped as Daphne laughed and took a deep breath. “I should’ve read it right away,” he stated. His tone suddenly quite serious. “If I had… I never would’ve…”  
“Tom, stop,” Daphne said, shaking her head. “I never… I didn’t expect you to wait for me. That wasn’t… the goal.”  
“No, I know, but… I would’ve. If I had read this when I got it, I never would’ve rushed into things with Audra, really. I was just… kind of trying to numb everything I guess and… I don’t know. I just wish I would’ve done things differently.”  
Daphne smiled. “A feeling I know well.”  
Tom gulped. His head drooped a bit, but he looked up at the girl from under the ridge of his eyebrows. “Did you mean it?”  
“All of it, Tom. Every word.”  
“You said you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me…”  
“I did.”  
“But you said that… you said you didn’t believe in the forever thing and…”  
Daphne took a deep breath, her chest heaving toward her chin. “I said that when I was still… a mess. I meant it, when I said it because I was still so… lost in what happened with Patrick that… I didn’t see that it was an option, not for me anyway.”  
“But now…?”  
Daphne gave him a crooked, sweet smile. “I mean it as much today as I did when I wrote it. I WANT to fix this, Tom. I want to be the woman you deserve. I want to give you… the entire fucking universe.”  
Tom’s head began to nod very quickly, over and over again. “I want that too.”  
“Okay, so then… we work on it. We… start over. Square one.”  
Tom grinned brightly. “Does that mean… tonight is our first date?”  
“Hmm… I think it might be.”  
Again, his head moved up and down. “Alright. So… we start again. Slow and steady, right?”  
“Right.”  
Suddenly Tom chuckled, his tongue peeking out from between his teeth. “I like that we decide this literally hours before I leave again.”  
Daphne shrugged. “It’ll be good. Give us… plenty of time to talk.”  
“True.”  
“You need to get out of here so I can get ready,” Daphne stated, delivering a playful push to the man’s chest.  
“Fuck. Yeah. I’m supposed to be at dinner in…” Tom paused as he looked at his watch. “Twenty minutes. I am going to be late.”  
Daphne laughed. “Go. I’ll see you in a couple hours.”  
“Yes, yes you will,” Tom stated. He pulled the girl into his arms, hugging her tightly and desperately not wanting to let go. “I’ll be back at eight.”  
“I’ll… look better than this…”  
“You look gorgeous. You always do,” Tom stated. He held her clothes, staring into the sparkling dark eyes before him. His heart skipped as he leaned down, gently pressing his lips into hers. Behind his closed eyelids he could see fireworks, though the kiss was quite innocent compared to their previous ones. It was different. It wasn’t about lust or passion or sex. It was out of love. Real love.  
Daphne’s eyes slowly fluttered open as he pulled back. “How… forward,” she said softly and a bit breathlessly. “We haven’t even had out first date.”  
Tom smirked. “You’ll have to forgive my lack of manners then.”  
“Go. Before you completely turn me into a ball of mush.”  
“I’ll see you in a bit.”  
“Bye.”  
“Bye.” Tom delivered a peck to the top of the girl’s forehead before finally releasing her and heading toward the front door. He stopped, his hand on the doorknob and turned back. “Daph?”  
“Yeah, babe?”  
“I really… really want this to work,” Tom answered. “I’m gonna do whatever it takes.”  
“Me too, sweetie.”  
He couldn’t fight the childlike grin from spreading across his face. “Good. Then everything should be perfect.”  
“As close as it can get.”  
“Bye.”  
“Bye.”  
As the front door closed, Daphne flung herself over the back of the couch. Her entire body was blushing and hot and excited and nervous and trembling and every other sign of happiness the human body could give. Her heart was racing, but she was happy. For the first time in a really, really long time, she was genuinely, truly, and completely happy.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the absence! Work has been insane and stressful and my brain wouldn't focus on anything but my job no matter how hard I tried. 
> 
>  
> 
> I do believe, however, that we are back. Here we go!

Tom was exhausted as he arrived at Daphne’s front door. He’d only just landed in London, returning from his six-week venture in Detroit, as promised, to attend Stephen’s upcoming yacht wedding. He’d been on an airplane, or at least in an airport, for the last thirteen hours. He honestly just wanted a bed and a shower, but seeing the girl won out, as usual.   
The last six weeks had been filled with phone calls, texts, emails and any other way they could possibly stay in contact. It was nice, a bit of reacquainting with each other, but he was ready to see her in person. To see her smile, to feel her warmth. The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. He was constantly reminding himself that this time was to be different. This time was to be slow and steady. But he was finding it difficult to keep from getting wrapped up in the girl just as before.   
He gave a quick rap on the door and heard a faint “It’s open!” in response. He chuckled and turned the doorknob. He barely got a foot in the door when he noticed that the only light coming in was from the outdoors. On the balcony he spotted a meticulously set up table, complete with candles and flowers, soft music dancing through the air from the stereo. He stopped in his tracks and laughed, not because it was funny, but out shock. And perhaps a bit of awe.   
“Hi,” Daphne’s voice greeted as she stepped into the main room from the kitchen. She was in leggings, a cream colored, oversized sweater, hanging from her shoulders, hair swept up atop her head. The tone of her voice was oddly soft, maybe a bit nervous. She wasn’t exactly one for romantic gestures, but… she was going to try. Anything that might prove herself to the man, Daphne was willing to do. No matter the scale.   
Tom pursed his lips into a tight smile, trying to stifle the excitement coursing through his veins. “What’s all this, hm?” he asked with a chuckle. “Expecting company?”   
Daphne shrugged as she slowly sauntered toward him. “Got bored. Looks like you showed up at the perfect time.”   
“Lucky me,” Tom grinned. His eyes were glued to her, even as she stopped a few feet before him. “I don’t even get a hug anymore? Have I been gone that long?”   
Daphne’s laugh bounced off the walls as her head tipped back. She took only a beat before bounding toward him and leaping into the man’s arms, her face burying into his shoulder as he held her tightly, up in the air, feet off the ground.   
Tom’s eyes drifted shut and he sighed contentedly. “God, I missed you,” he whispered. He really hadn’t realized how much he missed her until she was right there in front of him.   
“I missed you too,” came the girl’s muffled response.   
He turned his face toward hers, his nose burying into the fruity scented brown locks on her head. He planted a kiss there before setting the girl back on the ground. “So, really,” he said, gazing down up on her, brushing her bangs from her eyes, “what is all this? I thought we were ordering in? Quiet night at home and the sort?”  
“Who says I didn’t?” Daphne asked, shifting and twisting on the balls of her feet.   
“I can smell that you didn’t,” Tom retorted. “You didn’t have to go out of your way.”   
“I’ve been home all day. I wasn’t lying when I said I got bored. You know me. I don’t do sitting still well.”   
“Fair,” Tom said with a chuckle, finally slipping off his jacket and hanging it on a hook by the door. “You actually took a day off, though?”   
“I am off until after the wedding,” Daphne answered. “Our bridezilla is being a bit demanding.”   
“Uh oh. Stephen’s losing it?”   
Daphne’s eyes rolled into the back of her head. “We’ll talk over dinner. It’ll freeze before I finish explaining everything.” She took his hand and lead him to the five-star picnic waiting for his presence on the balcony. The man was getting treated tonight. 

“You’ve got to be joking,” Tom cracked up. Dinner was incredible and gone, dessert too and the Stephen horror stories had begun. “In the shop?”   
“Yes!” Daphne exclaimed. “He literally thought the ribbon on the back of my dress was too long and started throwing a tantrum in the store. Full on tears and screams and stomping. It was like I was with a five-year-old.”   
“What did they do?” Tom asked before taking a sip.   
“They were horrified as was I. When we went back into the dressing room I told them to leave it the way it was because he’d probably change his mind the second we get on the boat anyway.” Daphne shook her head. “Man is about to make me start drinking again.”   
Tom chuckled and set his glass down on the table. “So… is everything at least done?”   
“No. He’s making me get my hair done and my nails and… I don’t know. He has me running around all day tomorrow. I’m at his beck and call.”   
Tom’s tight lipped smile morphed into an overexaggerated pout. “What about me? I want you at my beck and call.”   
Daphne chuckled. “You can come along. You want a manicure?”   
Tom looked down at his hands. “I could probably use one.”   
“Come. Maybe you can mellow him out.”   
“Come on. He can’t be that bad. I don’t even believe you.”   
“Do you want to see the dress he’s making me wear? It’s in the closet.”   
“Go put it on.”   
“I meant… come see it…” Daphne stated with a laugh.   
“Nope. Fashion show. Chop, chop.”   
“Tom…” Daphne whined as she slowly got out of her seat.   
“No arguments, young lady, or no dessert.”   
Daphne scoffed as she headed to the doors. “We already had dessert, dummy.”   
“That’s what you think.”   
Daphne’s eyes nearly burst her head as he softly slapped at her butt when she passed by to disappear inside the apartment.  
Tom chuckled into the glass in his hand. He looked over the brightly lit city skyline while he waited. There was a bit of a chill to the air, but it was more cool than cold. He didn’t mind it so much. He got lost in a daze, staring at the lights and sounds of the city and before he knew it, he heard a cough, drawing his attention back to the door.   
He turned, nearly choking on his drink when the woman came into view. She stood in the doorway, obviously unimpressed with his desire to see her in the garment, hands folded across her chest.   
“Happy?” she asked.   
Tom pursed his lips and nodded, his eyebrows looking as if they were going to jump from his forehead. “That, um… that is… a dress…”   
“It’s awful.”   
The silky garment was a glowing jade green, bright and beautiful. However, the color wasn’t what it’s wearer had problems with. It was the cut. It was a long silky skirt, a slit cut in one side, ending at the middle of her thigh. The top was mostly two ends of a thick ribbon, crossed over just to cover her chest then crossed again to hold it upon her shoulders. It was more than obvious the girl hated it. Tom didn’t, but he didn’t have to wear it.   
“Darling, it’s not that bad,” he assured. “I promise. You… You look phenomenal actually.”   
“A strong wind will blow this top right off me… and we’re going to be on a boat. There will be strong winds.”   
“I won’t be sad.”   
Daphne snarled and slapped at the man as he laughed and dodged. “You’re awful.”   
“I’m giving you a compliment!” Tom laughed as the girl still frowned. Eventually she turned back inside and stomped away, desperately wanting to get out of the mess she wore. “Hey! Heeeeey!” Tom sprung from his chair and chased after her. “I’m sorry, okay? I wasn’t trying to make a joke. I really do think you look fantastic in it.”   
“That’s why you can’t stop laughing.”   
“Its… it’s a bit more scandalous than I expected. That’s it. Honestly,” Tom insisted, propping himself in the doorway of her bedroom. He hadn’t seen the room since she got back and everything was different, just like it had been in the rest of the house: three slate grey walls, one white, black furnishings, even the bedspread. It was dark, but it was full. It was her. “Babe, seriously. You look great.”   
“I look like a trophy girl on the fucking Price Is Right and I hate it.”   
“You can be my trophy girl,” Tom said through a fake pout. He took the girl’s wrist and pulled her into his arms, thankful she didn’t put up much of a fight. “It’s terrible. I’ll give you that. But you pull it off.”   
“I hate you,” Daphne stated, stone faced, starring into his eyes as she clasped her hands at the small of his back.   
Tom burst into laughter yet again. “No, you don’t, but if that’s how you need to feel right now, fine,” he stated. He leaned in and rested his forehead on hers. “You look beautiful and… you only have to wear it for a few hours. You’ll be fine.”   
“I hate all of this. Remind me to never get married.”   
Tom lifted his head, his eyebrows sunken over his blue eyes. “You… don’t want to get married…? Like… ever?”   
“It just seems unnecessary,” Daphne stated, pulling out of his grasp. “Like all the stress, all the madness. Why bother?”   
Tom scoffed. “But you WERE married. Was it like that for you?”   
“We got married at a courthouse and were at work by three the same day,” Daphne answered with a laugh as she grabbed her clothes from the bed and headed into the attached bathroom. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a wedding. I mean, we were engaged for maybe twelve hours.”   
“Yeah, but I’m just saying… it doesn’t have to be like that,” Tom stated, raising his voice a bit so she could hear him. He walked over and sunk to a seat on the bed. He was a bit disturbed, which made him feel silly. It was far too soon to even think of getting married, but… it had to at least be an option. It was what he wanted: marriage and a family and if she didn’t…  
“Everyone always says it’s not going to be like that and when it’s their turn, it always is,” Daphne stated as she reappeared. “Wedding’s are basically just a way for people to show off now days. Show people how wealthy they are and how much they have and how big of a party they can throw. It’s kind of gross.”   
Tom shook his head. “You have been paying attention to the wrong people then. That’s not how I see it at all.”   
“That’s because you live in fairy tale land.”   
“That’s a bit insulting,” Tom huffed.   
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t… trying… to insult you,” Daphne stated, leaning up against the enormous black dresser along the wall. “You just… you’ve seen a different world than I have.”   
“I’ve seen plenty of shit in my day, thank you,” Tom retorted. “It hasn’t all been rainbows and puppies. I just happen to not let the bad in the world deter my hope for better. You should try it sometime.”   
Daphne just stared at him for a moment, eyes wide. “I, um… I wasn’t trying to start a fight…”   
Tom took a deep breath and sighed. “We’re not fighting. We can have… a discussion of a difference in opinion without it being a fight.”   
“It feels like a fight,” Daphne stated, looking at the carpet as she rubbed the toe of her sock back and forth and back again.   
“C’mere,” Tom stated with a chuckle, outstretching an arm toward the girl. She hesitated, but then obliged, sinking into the mattress next to him. Tom pulled her into him and kissed the top of her head. “Let’s talk about something else. Weddings are apparently not a good subject for us right now.”   
“Wanna watch a movie?” Daphne asked with a sigh.   
“Let’s do it.” 

They watched one movie, then part of another, snuggled up on the sofa in the living room. Tom was stretched out, his six-foot two frame taking up nearly the entire thing, Daphne tucked away, half on him, half sinking somewhere into the back of the couch. Despite the fact he was desperately trying not to, he couldn’t stop thinking about her apparent disdain for anything concerning the word wedding. He was trying to focus on anything else. He was trying to enjoy being there, in that moment. Being with her again, feeling her beside him again but he couldn’t. All he could think about was how pointless this all would be if there endgame wasn’t the same.   
“What’s wrong with you?”   
“Hm?” Tom retorted, snapping out of his daze and finding the girl’s eyes staring up at him from his shoulder. “Nothing.”   
“Are you sure? You got… really quiet…”   
“I’m just tired,” Tom said with an attempt at a reassuring smile. “That’s all. It’s been a long few weeks.”   
“You positive?”   
Tom slowly nodded his head up and down. “Positive.” He planted a kiss on her forehead.   
Daphne knew he was lying, but if he didn’t want to tell her, she wasn’t going to pry. “Maybe we should call it a night then. You’ve probably got some sleep to catch up on.”   
Tom sighed heavily. “You’re not wrong there.” There was a short pause before his head began nodding in agreement. “You’re right. I should, um… I should probably head out.” Daphne sat up, allowing the man to escape from underneath her. “I, um… I’m going to pick up Bobby tomorrow and hang with the family for a bit but I’ll call you? We’ll do something later?”   
“Sure,” Daphne said with a less than convinced smile. “I mean, if his highness is ever done with me, I am all yours.”   
“Good.” He bent down, once again pressing his lips into the top of her head. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”   
“Yup.” Daphne watched as he gathered his coat and shoes and silently headed to the door. With nothing more than a week and a smile he disappeared.   
Six weeks. Six weeks of waiting and wishing and day dreaming of his return and all she got was a few kisses on the head. She knew they were taking it slow, sure, that was well and good, but the night before he left they made out like teenagers and she felt more like a kid sister than much else. There was definitely something on the man’s mind and she had no idea what.


End file.
